The Silver Lily
by zoepeanut
Summary: AU in which Zoe was given Sydney's position in Palm Springs to ensure that Jill blends in with humans. Taking place shortly after the events of bloodlines, Adrian, Sonya, and Dimitri focus on finding ways to get quicker results from studying spirit. They come up with the idea that by restoring another strigoi, they could gain valuable insight into Lee's immunity.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own bloodlines or these characters, they are all the property of Richelle Mead.

 **Note** : This store takes place after Bloodlines, with a few minor alterations to the original plot. Zoe has always been the alchemist in Palm Springs, for reasons that will be explained later in the story. Keith's tattoo business was never investigated by Zoe, so he was never removed from his post in Palm Springs. Instead, he was ultimately a victim of Lee's quest to become a strigoi once more. Lee was still killed in his attempt to return to his former state and Eddie still killed the strigoi while Zoe watched, having been present when the strigoi arrived.

 _Adrian_

Palm Springs was too hot and too boring. Lee had been able to bring me around LA a few times, but outside of that I had nothing to do to entertain myself. Now, Lee was gone and we were stuck with the boring alchemist, Zoe to babysit all of us. The incident with Lee had been pretty traumatic on her, making her distance herself even further from us than most alchemists did. Regardless, she was just doing her job, but it left me feeling bored.

To make things worse, I had work to do myself now. Orders directly from Lisa, which surprised me. She never liked using her title against me, her friend, but she had viewed this as an important mission. Lee's immunity needed to be studied more, so we could replicate its effects on others. Once this was accomplished, all of the moroi would be safe from our enemy, the strigoi. Well, at least from becoming one of them, anyway.

Zoe was the lucky one, the one who had benefitted the most from our attack. I got stuck with a job while she inherited Keith's swanky apartment, filled with expensive furniture and a huge TV. She had all the tools in the world to entertain herself and I was jealous. At least I would be getting some kind of social interaction today. It was feeding day for Jill, something that normally managed to improve my mood. Today, I was suffering more due to spirit's side effects. Overuse for our experiments left me moody, which was great when it made me happy, but not so great on the down swing.

Thankfully, Dimitri and Sonya had gone out today so I was free from my Russian competitor. Seeing him only reminded me of Rose, the dhampir who broke my heart. She was always on the back of my mind, the girl who had decided I wasn't enough for her and never would be. No amount of alcohol could drown out the misery she had put me in.

The door opened, bringing in my friends that were busy spending time at Amberwood. "Adrian! Guess what we brought?" Jill said cheerily, always trying to brighten my mood. Her smile was one of the few bright spots in my life now, one of the few things I looked forward to seeing. Jill was almost like a sister to me, a creepy one that could see inside my head all the time.

The smell told me what she had already. "You are awesome, Jailbait. A goddess, a food bringing goddess." I told her, putting on a smile like always. This mood would go away soon enough and the pizza they brought would only help chase it away. "Enough, this is not the time for you to be socializing. Get your…eat and let's get out of here." Zoe said, stepping up to her job. It was funny to see that she was still uncomfortable thinking about us drinking blood.

"As friendly as ever, Zoe. Nice to see you too." I told her, grinning just to annoy her. It was so easy to put fear into this alchemist, especially compared to the others. I remembered the day she came, when she was cowering against Keith for protection from us evil creatures. Keith hadn't been much better, and while Zoe had improved, she still held some deep hatred in her eyes. This was a personal hatred for her, but I had yet to figure out why.

"Where are Sonya and Dimitri? I needed to finalize their arrangements here." she asked, ignoring my comment and focusing on business. Only the downturn of her mouth alerted me to her dislike of me and the rest of us. "Out, running some errands. They needed fuel to continue our little operation over could help by bringing us more vodka, wine, or any other kind of alcoholic beverage." I told her.

Eddie groaned, clearly reaching his tolerance limit. "Adrian, stop pestering the alchemist. She is only doing her job, so leave her alone." he told me, but I didn't care. Irritating Zoe was one of the few sources of entertainment in my life. It was fun to watch and see if she would keep her calm, alchemist demeanor, or snap and yell at me.

"My job is to ensure that Jill is hidden at Amberwood and provide transportation for them when they need to participate in these studies or get to her feedings. I will do nothing outside of those duties. It is best if we stay as far away from each other as possible, Mr. Ivashkov." Zoe responded, getting close to her bursting point. She was trying really hard, but one of these days she would explode and in that explosion, I would hear her reason for hating us.

"Of course, sorry for bothering you, Ms. Sage. If you ever change your mind and decide to loosen up a bit, let me know." I told her, only making her frown more. The door opened again, this time nearly making me lose my smile. Dimitri and Sonya were returning from their trip, bringing me back into my endless torment at this house. No alcohol was left to drown out my sorrow, leaving me open to endless torment from them and spirit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own bloodlines or these characters, they are all the property of Richelle Mead.

 **Thank you all for reading! Please review and tell me what you think so far.**

 _Zoe_

It had been over a month since my first assignment began, and so much had happened. Jill was fine with her classes, adjusting to her new schedule with nothing more than social issues. I had immediately stamped out any ideas of dating here, after seeing what happened between her and Micah on the first few days. A stern talk with him was all it took to keep him away from my 'sister'.

On top of that, there had been Keith's death. I felt lost without his guidance. He had taught me so much while I was here and now I was doing all of this by myself. I was going to be an amazing alchemist and impress my dad, but this job had gotten so stressful. I kept seeing images of strigoi everywhere, reminding me of what I had lost to the vampires. All of them, whether they were moroi, strigoi, or dhampir, were evil and needed to be kept away from.

Today, as per my job in Palm Springs, I had brought Jill, Eddie, and Angeline to the home of Clarence Donahue for Jill's feeding. It was all I could do to stop myself from screaming at Adrian, the worst of them all. He was always taunting me, treating everything like a joke in this world. Even his research on something that could save people from becoming monsters was a joke to him.

"Looks like everyone is here, today." Sonya said as she walked inside. "Dimitri and I were discussing something, about our experiments and we wanted to get your approval, since it would require more meetings between all of us." she continued, looking at me. Of course, all the vampires wanted to talk to the alchemist today. It was just my luck.

"Of course. I also need to confirm that you were going to be staying here at Clarence's or if you were going to need an apartment of your own. The alchemists have approved the extra spending, if it is necessary to keep you here for the experiments." I told them, doing my best to sound calm and collected. I wanted to look just like a professional alchemist, one who had been doing this job for years instead of months.

"Hell yes, we need an apartment. I need one filled with a flat screen TV, maids, a butler, and an open bar. Can they get me anything like that?" Adrain asked, as if he had been the focus of that question. I glared at him, showing him that he would be receiving no such thing. Sonya and Dimitri looked amused, which only baffled me further. Wasn't there anyone here who understood how to be professional? Then again, they were vampires so I shouldn't expect them to behave in any human way.

"We will remain at Clarence's, thank you for the offer." Dimitri said, answering for them. He was at least serious about his job, constantly observing his surroundings no matter where we went. Even though I disliked being around them, I could feel safe from strigoi around this vampire. "We need your help to track down a strigoi nearby." Sonya said, surprising me. This was new to me, something that seemed to be a strange path for them to take. They were studying spirit to prevent more strigoi from being made, so it seemed to be too late to study someone who had already been changed.

"With the studies we have done, we are seeing little to no difference between Dimitri and Eddie. I need to look at a freshly changed individual, one that has just been restored to their former state. That will require training on our part and searching on your part." Sonya told me. Adrian seemed to be getting serious about this conversation now, since it dealt with him personally.

"Who is going to stake the strigoi? Don't tell me you are going to risk your own life and break Mikhail's heart, Sonya." Adrian said, making me frown. I didn't know who Mikhail was, but he did have a valid point. In order to save a strigoi, a spirit user had to stake the strigoi, something that was almost physically impossible for them if they haven't trained for it. "Of course not. Dimitri has decided to train you for the job, with some help from Eddie who has experience with this from his work with Jill." Sonya said, sounding excited and confident about this.

"Alright, as long as it's the drunk guy's life on the line, everything will be okay. Maybe he will just trip over his own feet and accidentally slip a stake into a strigoi's heart." Adrian said sarcastically, clearly trying to get out of this experiment. "Adrian, you have to do this. I am in charge of these experiments and you know what Vasilisa said. This is a necessary risk, one that I wish we didn't have to take." Sonya said, staying calm and rational.

Looking over at me, she wanted to confirm my support. The alchemists would be all for quickening the progress from this study. They would want to see results as soon as possible, to protect as many people as possible. This would require me to give Adrian rides to Amberwood, or Eddie more rides here, for his training. It did require my approval, even if I didn't like it. I was going to be stuck spending my free time with more vampires, one of the worst of the crew too. "Of course. How often will I be needed to give rides for the training?" I asked, agreeing to my own personal hell for this job. At least dad would be proud of me, I thought. Anything to earn his approval would be worth it in the end.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own bloodlines or these characters, they are all the property of Richelle Mead.

 **Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for reading. I've got a bust** **schedule** **this weekend, so this will probably be my last update for the week. I'll try to add another chapter as soon as possible. Please review and tell me what you think!**

 _Adrian_

Now they had done it. They had literally taken my life away from me, putting me on this path to total destruction. _I'm still here with you, Adrian. We will destroy them for this. My boy can get out of anything._ A familiar voice told me, the voice of my long dead Aunt Tatiana. She had always supported me and in my darkest moments, especially after using spirit, her voice would appear in my head and give me advice. No one knew about her presence in my mind and it was going to stay that way.

The alchemist finalized the arrangements while I sat back and ignored all of them. Jill squeezed my hand gently, trying to give me some support. She might know about Tatiana, but she wouldn't tell anyone my secrets. This bond was a burden to both of us, even if it had saved her life. I just wanted something to drink, some kind of alcohol to drown away my problems. Sadly, Sonya and Dimitri had forgotten to get any while they were out.

The Amberwood crew left without much fuss, leaving me feeling tired and irritated. These visits were normally the best two days of my week, but not anymore. Now it was only going to mean training, learning how to sully my hands in a fight. I had never even managed to clean a house or hold a job. How did they expect me to kill a strigoi? Maybe they were just using me as bait, something for the strigoi to snack on while someone more skilled like Lisa or even Sonya came and staked it.

"Adrian, don't sulk. This is what we have been searching for, a chance to look even deeper into this problem." Sonya told me, but it did little to improve my mood. "It is always best to look at the positive of any situation, Adrian." Dimitri told me, which actually made me feel worse. Anything he said made me angry, just because of what he had done. If he hadn't come along and taken her away, Rose would still be with me.

"Positive? What positive is there to this situation? All I can see is my death and alcohol in my future, not necessarily in that order." I told them, shaking my head. "I'm not a fighter, I never have been. Try finding Robert Doru if you want a strigoi hunting spirit user. Just leave me out of it." I suggested, remembering the other spirit user who was capable of this. He had gone missing ever since the death of his brother, Victor. No one knew where he was or what he was doing.

"Adrian, we need this done now. No one else is capable of doing this for us. I can't, because I have far too much to lose. Mikhail has lived long enough worrying about me for me to do this to him now. We will have guardians present, in case anything goes wrong." Sonya told me, trying to sooth my fears. I glared at her, for her insinuation that I didn't have anything to lose. Her points were valid, regardless of the fact that I wanted to live out my crappy life anyway. There were few things in it to enjoy, but I wanted to keep those pleasures and continue being Adrian Ivashkov for at least another fifty years.

"I won't let you go out there until you are fully prepared, Adrian. Regardless of our past, I do respect you and would like to try and be friends." Dimitri added, teaming up with Sonya. It was always like this in these experiments, with Sonya leading and giving commands, Dimitri supporting her. I was the odd man out, always the last to hear about these plans and the only one whose opinion was not heard. "Whatever. Just leave me alone so I can contemplate my death in peace. I was almost to the point of deciding what to put on my tombstone when you so rudely interrupted me." I told them, glaring. Silently, the did as I asked and left me to sulk in peace, with only my thoughts and Tatiana to keep me company.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own bloodlines or these characters, they are all the property of Richelle Mead.

 **Thank you for my first review! I do believe that this chapter will answer your question as to what role Sydney has in my story. Keep reading and I hope you enjoy!**

 _Zoe_

It was peaceful at home, a completely vampire-free zone. By myself, I checked in with my superiors and communicated the plan for Adrian. They agreed that it was dangerous, but the best way to get results. The made me swear to only participate in helping them train and track the strigoi, not actually attacking it. It went without saying that I would not go to hunt it down. I didn't want to die, especially not at the hands of one of those monsters. Even worse, one of them might decide to make me one of them. I shuddered at the thought, making the alchemist sign against evil on my shoulder.

I noticed something was off at my house, one thing slightly out of place. A statue, something that my sister Sydney had gotten for me was in the wrong place, sitting on the coffee table and not in the display cabinet for my other souvenirs that I hadn't wanted to leave behind with my parents. I picked it up and examined it carefully, making sure no damage had come to it. I needed to be on guard, ready for an attack. I felt my pulse quicken as I looked around for something to defend myself with, but felt panicked as nothing came to mind. This intruder was going to kill me and just like every other time before, I was helpless.

That was when I noticed something taped to the bottom of the statue. It had been a small replica of some famous greek statue, something that vastly interested my sister but bored me. I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps, so knowledge about these things was useless to me. I didn't need to know about art to be an alchemist, but Sydney loved history and architecture. Picking at it gently, I pulled the piece of paper out and began to read, realizing it was a note.

Dear Zoe,

It has been so long since I have seen you, my youngest sister. Life has been so great to me since we parted ways and I hope it is the same for you. I heard that you had followed in our father's footsteps and taken a job as an alchemist. It makes you more protected than most, but not safe enough. I have come to realize, that you are always in danger from the world around you. That night five months ago should have been proof enough of that. After experiencing what this life has to offer, I have made my decision. I am the only one who can protect you, the only one who can show you the true joys of life. Once you have awakened and joined me, you will understand sister.

Best Wishes,

Sydney

My fear grew strong, realizing exactly what this note meant. Memories came back, memories of the attack on our house so many months ago, but still so fresh in my mind. Vampires had come crashing in, interrupting our family dinner. Carly was still away at college, so luckily she was safe. It was every alchemists' worst nightmare, but it had been my first encounter with any vampire. Seeing their red eyes and pale skin had been far too much. I was frozen, unable to move to defend myself.

My parents had tried to grab me and pull me away, which took far too much effort. My sister was the brave one, the one who had tried to save us from them, at a great cost. "Leave them alone! Take me and let them go, creatures." she had told them, touching the cross at her neck. I felt tears begin to flow down my cheeks, touched at the gesture. The two strigoi looked at each other, considering. "I think it will be fun. Take the girl and wait for her to come back for her family. We all go back to what we were familiar with at one point, don't we, Kayla?" one asked, smiling softly at the girl next to him.

She nodded, smiling back. "Of course, I remember. You came back to bring me this power, this strength. I will forever be grateful. This girl will make her family eternally grateful as well." she responded, licking her lips. My fear had reached its peak when they went down to bite my sister, allowing me to release an ear shattering scream."Zoe! Quiet down and run. This is not the time to panic, it is the time to act." Dad had said, giving me the will to run. We had escaped with our lives, but we never saw Sydney again.

I was shaking, their words made so much more sense. They had known she would come for me, if she was turned. My sister had joined the vampires, one of the evil ones. Now, she was going to come for me and try and turn me into one of those evil creatures. I felt myself on the verge of pure panic, glancing around the room to ensure she was not here. Strigoi were so fast and strong; I was certain that I would be no match for her when she showed up.

Thinking back to our experiment, I realized something. I needed to bring Adrian a strigoi, and I had one targeting me. My sister could be saved, but in order to do so, I had to break the orders I had been given. By tracking her down, I would likely need to act as bait for her during the attack. On top of that, I would need to work far more closely with the vampires than ever before, if I truly wanted her back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own bloodlines or these characters, they are all the property of Richelle Mead.

 **Thank you for continuing to read and follow my story! Once again, thank you for the review. I love hearing from others, whether the comments are good or constructive** **criticism** **, both will help me** **improve** **my writing!**

 _Adrian_

It was three in the morning and someone was knocking on the door. It was time for people to sleep, or in my case, lie in bed and hope for sleep. Insomnia sucked, and without liquor I couldn't relax enough to get around it. I groaned and got up to see who was disturbing us this early in the morning. Nothing could be this urgent, not in the human world anyway. Around here, no one followed a vampire schedule, so I had gotten used to a human one.

I opened the door and was surprised to see the alchemist at my door, by herself with none of the Amberwood crew. Something must have happened if she was showing up here this late. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Jill?" I demanded, feeling wide awake now that my friends were in danger. She blinked, seeming surprised to see me at my own house. Well, Clarence's house but I was still living here.

"No, Jill's fine. Is Dimitri here?" she asked, looking exhausted but on edge. Frowning, I opened myself up to spirit to study her aura. Unlike most alchemists, hers was not yellow. She wasn't all that thrilled by learning and pursuing knowledge, but she was motivated by love and self-doubt. I could see a lot of both traits in her aura, even if neither were shown to our kind. Today, her aura was filled with fear, almost on the verge of panic. It was amazing that she was able to keep all of that concealed so well.

"Just because Jailbait's fine, doesn't mean there is nothing wrong. What's up?" I asked, not letting her in. She had interrupted my night, just as I was about to fall asleep. Now, it was my turn to interrupt her plans. _Yes, that's right. We need to make her regret coming here._ Tatiana told me, making me rub my head. Zoe glance around herself, looking worried about us standing here for too long. "I think I know where we can find a strigoi, but the timing is off." she told me, once again making me wonder why this couldn't have waited until tomorrow, or even later on in the week when Jill came for her next feeding.

"Really? And I think I know where to find my bed. Good night, Zoe." I told her, annoyed that she had gotten me up for this. I had finally managed to stop thinking about strigoi hunting and now she had to come and bring it up again. "Wait! It's my sister." she said, grabbing my hand and making me freeze. Alchemists never touched us. They were afraid that our evilness was contagious, or some religious nonsense like that. Just the fact that Zoe was grabbing my hand told me this was serious.

"Okay, Zoe. You've got five minutes to convince me that you aren't just another annoying alchemist here to keep me up all night." I said, waiting for her to release my arm. She just seemed to notice that she had grabbed it and pulled away violently, clutching her hands to her chest. "Sorry." she mumbled, looking down at the ground. I could tell that she was really shaken up, but she wasn't speaking. I had spent enough time lost in memories of Rose to recognize the signs of someone who was being haunted by their past.

"Take a deep breath, and then tell me about what your sister said." I told her, trying to calm her down. I probably wasn't the best choice, but I wasn't going to stand here and do nothing while she broke down. "I didn't exactly talk to her. She left me a note." Zoe said, her hands shaking. "Please, just let me inside." she begged, looking behind her again as if she expected to see something in the darkness.

Studying her aura once more, I decided it would be the best way to understand what was going on. She was convinced that something dangerous was outside, so maybe she would feel calmer inside, more able to talk. Stepping aside, I gestured for her to come in so we could talk. She looked relieved, but the fear didn't leave her eyes.

"My sister is coming for me." she said, as if that explained anything. I had no idea who her sister was, much less why this was a bad thing. It seemed to have nothing to do with strigoi either, but she wouldn't be here if it wasn't related to the alchemists. They were her life, the only reason she talked to any of us. "Okay, so?" I asked when she didn't elaborate.

"You might remember her, if you ever spent time at your court. Her name was Sydney, an alchemist that had broken our rules to help Rose escape and find evidence against the true murderer of Queen Tatiana." she said, seeming slightly calmer now that she was talking about moroi history and not strigoi. Her words did spark a little bit of memory. I had met the girl briefly, if you could even call it that. She had been rather beautiful for a human girl, but she was nothing like me, according to Rose. All I had heard about was Sydney's obsession with facts and her job, just like a normal alchemist.

"That doesn't seem so bad. What's wrong with having another alchemist here?" I asked, curious about why they were sending another and why Zoe was so worried. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself, clearly upset with something. "We were attacked after she got back. Strigoi raided our house. My parents escaped with me, because Sydney sacrificed herself." she responded, making me suddenly realize so much about this girl.

Her hatred for us was so great, not only because of Lee's actions but also because of this attack. She had lost someone to a strigoi, which, based on the alchemist beliefs, was the same as losing someone to any kind of vampire. She blamed all of us for the loss of her sister, something I could do nothing about. Still, it wasn't going to stop me from annoying her. It was the only source of amusement I had in Palm Springs.

I also realized why she had come over here so urgently, what the issue was with her sister coming here. Rose had told me about the death threats she received from Belikov when he had been turned. This Sage sister seemed to be doing the same thing. Zoe wanted her sister back and was hoping I could help her. "Look, I know that I haven't exactly gotten along with you in the past, but I need your help now. Just help me save my sister." she begged, letting her hands drop into her lap.

This alchemist who hated my kind had come here to beg for help at three in the morning. She looked like she had gone through hell and was desperate for a solution. I had been there and still was in my own personal hell from losing Rose. If I could improve one person's misery, than I would. I now had a reason to fight, a reason to learn to stake a strigoi.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own bloodlines or these characters, they are all the property of Richelle Mead.

 _Zoe_

He had agreed. I didn't know what to do now that he had said he would help me. It felt awkward to sit around this house, filled with vampires, but I didn't want to go home, not when my sister might be lurking around. I was not going to become strigoi, no matter what she wanted. I was safe and happy as I was, just a regular alchemist following in her father's footsteps.

Adrian had gone off to bed, telling me to stay as long as I wanted to. I was sitting on the couch, afraid of being found and hating myself for being a coward. Sydney, the sister I had once known, wouldn't have done this. She might have been quiet around our father, but she had passion and was willing to fight for her family. I was weak, unable to stand up for myself to do anything outside of make my father happy. No wonder he was disappointed in me.

I barely slept that night, drifting in and out of nightmares the whole time. Even in my dreams, I couldn't quite picture the sister I knew with the red eyes of a strigoi. I didn't know how I would react when I saw her and it worried me. My values and beliefs on vampires had been shaken, changed ever so slightly now that Adrian had talked to me. Maybe some moroi weren't quite as evil as strigoi. Then, I realized that it wasn't quite true. He was doing this for his own benefit, probably thinking that my sister would be an easier target than other strigoi.

The others came out from their rooms, distracting me from my futile attempts to get more sleep. I would have to drink coffee if I was going to manage to function for the rest of the day. I didn't have work to do, but I did need to stay up and focused on my hobbies. I had started studying more languages, in the hopes that the alchemists might notice and send me out of the country because of how useful I could be there. Being multilingual was a requirement in our line of work. The more you knew, the more adaptable you could be to work with people from any country.

"Younger Sage sister, I thought you would have left by now." Adrian commented, smiling at me as a greeting. I nodded, feeling my eyelids drooping slightly, but not quite closing. "Zoe? What are you doing here?" Sonya asked, having not heard me coming in last night. For creatures of the night, these vampires sure were heavy sleepers. Outside of Adrian, at least. Dimitri saw me and looked alert, apparently thinking my presence meant danger, just like Adrian had.

"Not sleeping." I told them, rubbing my eyes and groaning as I realized I had dropped my alchemist demeanor around them. I needed to work on staying calm, regardless of how I felt. Adrian caught my slip-up and grinned even further, amused at my attitude. "Well, I wasn't either a few hours ago. How do you like it, alchemist?" he asked, finding another name to call me. This one didn't seem to make me feel better, even if it was what I was.

"I should get going. I've spent too much time here already." I told them, standing up. "Oh no you don't. I'm not letting you go out driving when you are practically drunk and don't even have a license. That is just a disaster waiting to happen, alchemist." he said, apparently liking the nickname. I glared at him for his metaphor, not liking my state being compared to being drunk. I had never drank liquor and was not about to, regardless of his lifestyle.

"I'll take her, since you are far more likely to annoy her and make her uncomfortable. Plus, you'll find a reason to disappear for hours, leaving us with no time to start your training." Sonya said, surprising me. None of them knew why I was here, so what made them help me? We weren't friends and vampires didn't normally socialize with humans of any kind. Today was seeming strange, as if it was trying to break down my views on all vampires, not just Adrian. I tried to stay focused on the end of her statement, probably the real reason she was doing this. It was to further the experiments here, not help me.

I walked outside, letting Sonya follow me without argument. Adrian had made some comment about being left behind, but it was half-hearted and I had been too tired to focus on hearing it. "Beautiful day out today." Sonya commented, taking a deep breath and staring at the sun. It must be something amazing for her to look at, especially after so many years of being strigoi.

"Can I ask you a personal question? I know it is not usual for alchemists to do so, but with these experiments I have begun to grow curious about some things." I explained, hoping to still sound relatively distanced from them and only focused on the knowledge. She nodded, waiting for me to continue. "What is it like coming back from being strigoi?" I was thinking about my sister, hoping to gain some insight into what she might experience, if Adrian managed to take this seriously and actually save her.

Her eyes darkened, thinking about her past. "It is hard to explain. The guilt is the first thing that came back to me. I had chosen that path and I could remember everything I had done, even if it didn't exactly feel like it was me doing it. It took me a long time to move past that and continue living my life as it used to be. Without Dimitri there to help, I imagine I would have lost myself to despair and never returned to help the moroi with this project." she answered, still looking distant and distracted. I wondered if my sister would behave similarly. In a way, she had chosen that path as well, even if she had planned on being killed. Would it make her feel worse or better about her situation?

My thoughts had begun to distract me and Sonya was clearly distracted with her own memories. These distractions were our mistake. We weren't that far away from Clarence's house, barely even to the edge of the driveway. I had parked on the edge of the street, in the event that Dimitri or Sonya had to leave while I was here. Unlike other areas of palm springs, there were no strict overnight parking rules that would get me towed for parking here.

Not far from where we were, there was another group walking. I had seen them and assumed it was a group heading out to enjoy the nice weather. It was always sunny and hot in palm springs, but today it was slightly cooler, making the weather tolerable and enjoyable for most people. While I didn't exactly have friends out here in Palm Springs, I did understand their desire to be outside today.

"That's the evil creature! Let us get this over with and return with the smiles of victory on our faces." I overheard, making me frown. I was too tired to process their words quick enough to react. I was tripped and then pinned on the ground, while another attacker went for Sonya with what looked like a giant sword. How had I missed such an obvious weapon just a few moments ago?

I had screamed as a reflex to the attack, making the guy holding me cover my mouth. It was already too late. This close to the house, Dimitri and Adrian would have heard me. With Dimitri's guardian training, he would at least come outside to investigate, which meant help was on the way. I only prayed it would arrive soon enough to save Sonya. I paused at that thought, wondering why I was so concerned with the life of a vampire. She was an unnatural creature, after all. Her death shouldn't bother me, but it did. I decided that it was part of human nature, to care about any living thing regardless of if it was meant to be a part of nature.

My only regret was that I was unable to see Dimitri's attack. It sounded like it was amazing and it made me wonder what he was truly capable of. I could hear grunts and groans behind me as he moved in, easily taking out these attackers. "Retreat! One of the hybrids is guarding the evil one, so we must flee!" the same man called out, clearly the one in charge and giving the orders. I felt the pressure on my back release, freeing me to get up. Looking down in the grass, I could see that they had lost something. A small earring, in the shape of a sun and colored in gold stared back at me. I picked it up, hoping it could be used later to help us. It was one more problem to add to our list. Now, we were dealing with something dangerous, something that took an even greater priority than the spirit studies. This was something that threatened our lives, since we had been the targets from the start of that attack.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines or these characters, they all belong to Richelle Mead.

 **Thank you for another review, AlteraWinter! I will try to provide more details for you in the future.**

 _Adrian_

I had heard the scream, but I didn't leave the house. Belikov was skilled enough to take care of any danger they were in. I would only get in the way if I tried to help. It was sunny out, so it was not going to be a strigoi attack. When they all came inside a few moments later, I was lounging on a chair in the living room, waiting for them to come back. The alchemist seemed shaken up and exhausted, a combination that was never good. I grinned and gave them a wave as they entered the room, knowing that getting in a bad mood wouldn't help anyone.

"Who was that out there?" Dimitri asked, apparently not knowing something for once. He had blindly attacked, which somehow amused me. "Oh, so you just beat up strangers now? Great to know I'm going to be learning to be such a productive member of society from you." I commented, but he ignored it. No one ever understood my hilarious comments. It was a shame to be such a comedic genius with no one around to appreciate you.

"I don't know. They seemed to be treating Sonya like a strigoi, though. I also found this after they left." Zoe said, holding out a small object. How she had managed to find it was amazing to me. Something about the attention to detail that had been drilled into all alchemists. Dimitri grabbed it to look closer. That was when Clarence decided to pay attention and join the discussion. "Vampire hunters! They have returned for me. Quickly, we must go, before they find us."

"It is all right, Clarence. The vampire hunters aren't going to hurt you here." Sonya said, using some of her compulsion to calm him. I shook my head, wondering what made her think I would scare Zoe. She was the one blatantly using magic in front of the alchemist. "Of course, of course. I am safe here." he mumbled in return, going back to staring off in the distance in the corner. Now that Lee was gone, he rarely spoke to any of us, choosing to live in the past instead. Zoe seemed to be too shaken by the attack to even notice the compulsion, so at least we were safe from her scorn for now.

"What does this sun mean?" Dimitri asked, confused about the object Zoe had found. Clarence was calm, but it didn't mean he wasn't listening to our conversation. "Their symbol. They love the sun and think it is pure." he commented, but the comment made no sense to us. Vampire hunters weren't real, at least not in our world. Glancing over at Zoe, I looked for a confirmation. "Vampire hunters don't exist,right?" The alchemists would know about them, if they were real. I also knew that they would keep things hidden, if they didn't see a reason to share the information.

She nodded, looking like she wanted nothing other than sleep right now. "No. The alchemists have no information on vampire hunters, so if they do exist they are very good at staying off of the radar." she told me, shaking her head. "This might just be a small group that rose up in the area, one that had learned about vampires from strigoi attacks in Los Angeles." she added, after thinking further.

"I have to agree with you, Zoe. Vampire hunters aren't believed in by my kind either, but this attack couldn't have been done by anyone else." Sonya said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry to ask this, but is there anyway to rush Adrian's training along so we can finish this before we have to deal with them again?" Sonya asked, turning to Dimitri. Once again, they were far too focused on this experiment instead of their lives.

"You should leave now, Sonya. Based on what we are hearing, you are being targeted by them. It would be safest if you left for court immediately." Dimitri argued, surprising me that he would actually disagree with Sonya. He always sided with her in arguments. "This is far too important for me to abandon at this point. We need two spirit users, one to restore the strigoi and one to observe them after they have been saved." she countered. It was a good point, considering the fact that using too much spirit would take a toll on either of us. I hadn't restored a strigoi before, but based on what I'd heard, it took a tremendous amount of magic, almost as much as bringing back the dead.

"I agree with Dimitri. Safety takes precedence over research, unfortunately. Eddie could start working with Adrian while you are away. By the time you return, we should be ready to go ahead with this." Zoe argued, also surprising me. After all of her comments about her sister and begging me to save her, she was giving up. I could see it in her eyes that she did not think she would be here when they returned. "We do need to rush, especially since there is already a strigoi in the area." I told them, not letting her give up so soon. I wasn't going to keep quiet while Zoe gave up. She had gotten my up at three in the morning for this, so I was not going to let her back down so easily.

Zoe looked surprised, turning towards me. "Aren't you worried about your friends?" she asked, confused at why I was asking them to stay here. I nodded, smiling at her. "Of course I am. I do recall making a promise to you, however, one that I intend to keep. We will save your sister, alchemist." I told her, smiling. Sonya nodded, happy to have me supporting this finally. We all looked at Dimitri for the final decision, the one person who could force her to return to court. "Very well. It is highly unlikely to get Adrian interested in this again, so I think we do need to use this opportunity." he commented, making me roll my eyes. I was going to start my training now, something I never expected to be excited about.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines or these characters, they all belong to Richelle Mead.

 **Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been busy with work lately and haven't found the time to write.**

 _Zoe_

I put in a request with the alchemists to be reenrolled at Amberwood. I no longer felt safe at my house, the place my sister had managed to find. They could give it to Sonya and Dimitri, or even Adrian if they wanted to. I just couldn't stay there after what had happened and feel safe about myself. Getting back into the school took some paperwork and discussion, but they managed to get it worked out. I had been back for three months now, with no more signs of the vampire hunters or Sydney. I still felt wary, always watching my surroundings in fear of my sister.

"Hey, the other Melbourne is back!" Trey, one of our classmates commented when he saw me after my return. I rolled my eyes, knowing the nickname was from a mistake one of my instructors made on my first day. He was never going to let it go. I had stopped correcting him on the first day, since my annoyance had only made him more persistent. It didn't help that we had been forced to be chemistry partners, putting us in contact for a minimum of an hour a day. "Hello Trey, it is good to see you again." I told him, happy that I had been able to keep my calm, professional attitude again once I had gotten some sleep. It didn't make up for my previous mistake, but I had managed to maintain my calm around the others ever since then.

"Serious as always, Zoe. You need to learn to loosen up, go to a party or two." he replied, shaking his head. "I'll see you around." he told me, heading off to class. The encounter had been short, but it was what I wanted. I had managed to fade away to the background here, unnoticed by students or teachers. It was what any alchemist would do, since these classes were not the focus of our job. I only needed to be able to explain anything strange about Jill, nothing more. As her 'sister', it was easy to provide any explanations with authority, not requiring anyone to have knowledge of my personality.

Classes were a breeze, easy to get through after everything my dad had taught me at home. With our education, there were very few classes that could teach me anything new. The only thing that was somewhat new to me, was gym. At home, we had never played or learned about sports, so activity like that was hard for me to adjust to. I did my best, but it was obvious that I was no where near as skilled as the other students. I would have to settle with being less than perfect in sports, which was fine with me. Dad was focused on how well I did my job, not how good I was at volleyball.

Trey was waiting for me as I finished my final class today, surprising me. I had never made friends with the other students here, so none of them should be looking for me. "Hey, Zoe. There's something I wanted to talk to you, for a moment." he said, looking uncomfortable. Something was up with Trey and it made me nervous. With everything going on, my sister and potential vampire hunters, I was afraid of anything even remotely suspicious. It didn't matter if nothing had happened in a while, I still didn't feel safe.

"I apologize, but I really must be going. I have homework and studying that needs to get done." I told him, hoping that it was a reasonable excuse. "I know what you are, Zoe." he told me, dropping his voice down to a whisper. I tensed, backing away slightly. "What do you mean? There are many things that I could be called, so what specifically are you referring to?" I asked, worried about what he had guessed. "An alchemist, and my people want to set up a meeting." he responded, looking no more pleased with this than I did.

I froze, wondering where I had slipped up. Trey should not have been able to guess my job, not unless he knew about vampires. "Your people? Who are they?" I asked him, keeping my voice formal and stiff, not giving him any sign of being right or wrong. "The Warriors of Light. We follow the true path we were given by god, unlike our brethren in the alchemists. We hope that one day we will reunite, which is the purpose of the meeting I'm supposed to schedule." he told me, sounding like he was only reiterating what had been repeated to him.

"I'm sorry, but I still do not understand how this relates to me." I told him, feigning ignorance. I had never heard of the Warriors of Light, but the alchemists were very secretive. I could not reveal anything about our organization to anyone, not without the approval of my superiors. "As a member of the alchemists, we would like to give you a message for the higher-ups in your organization. We understand that you can't decide for everyone, but we hope to be able to bring our two organizations together, once they understand our goals." he continued, explaining.

I was giving up, finally allowing my curiosity to win out. "What does your organization do anyway?" I asked him. "We seek to completely eliminate the existence of unholy creatures from this world. You are one we need to speak to more than others, because you have been deceived by the strigoi, Sonya Karp." he told me, but his expression told me he didn't agree with his words. He might be a part of this group, but he doubted their beliefs. I realized that these were the vampire hunters, but it didn't seem harmful to me yet. As long as they were only after vampires, they would do nothing to harm me.

"Sonya is not a strigoi. It appears that your organization has not been well-informed on the current events of the moroi race." I told him, since his use of the term strigoi freed me from the compulsion in my tattoo. "Look, Zoe, we've gone to the same school for almost half a year now. I know that you are dedicated to your job, and that is all I am trying to do. If I fail to bring you with me, it will disappoint my dad so much. He has high expectations of me, and whenever I fail a task, there is always some kind of punishment." Trey said, dropping his guard slightly. He had been tense throughout the entire conversation and this comment seemed to give me a brief insight into who Trey really was.

His comment made me think of my own father and my desire to please him. None of my sisters had managed to make him proud and I was certain I was going to be the first. Hearing his desire echo my own, it made my decision. I nodded and gave him a small smile. "As you said, I do not speak for the alchemists. I cannot guarantee that anything will happen as a result of this meeting." Thinking of that, I realized I didn't even have to tell the alchemists anything. I could keep this whole meeting a secret from everyone, just so that Trey could make his family proud. Even if I wasn't going to accomplish my goal tonight, it would make me happy to know that Trey had managed to make his father proud.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines or these characters, they all belong to Richelle Mead.

 **Sorry for taking so long to update. I kept trying to make this chapter longer, but failed miserably. Hope you enjoy, even if it is rather short. Feel free to review and tell me what you think so far!**

 _Adrian_

Months and months went by with little improvement, it seemed. I had been training with Dimitri, supposedly one of the best guardians out there, and was getting no where. He told me that I was doing well, but I had two eyes and could see for myself. I didn't feel like I was any stronger or improving in any way. "Keep running daily to improve your speed. You will never be able to match a strigoi, but you might get fast enough to save your own life." he told me at the end of our lesson.

"When are we finally moving past this? You have been showing me how to dodge and run, not how to kill them. I'm getting bored and this is getting us no where." I told him, feeling tired of all of this. I might have made a promise to the alchemist, but there were limits to where I would go. Months of pointless instruction was almost as bad as college had been. I was ready to let this go and try something else to research spirit.

Sonya had been watching us quietly and did not like my comment. "Adrian, this is how you are going to survive against one of them. You need to be able to get close in order to stake them. Without fire using moroi around here, they won't be distracted enough for you to stake them." she argued. "How about chains? Isn't that how Robert managed to stake you?" I suggested, liking this option better. It was a quick way to get this over with, a way that didn't involve nearly as much effort.

Dimitri sighed, shaking his head. "After all you have learned, you think that it is a reasonable course of action to restrain a strigoi? They want nothing more than to kill you. Restraining them not only takes far more skill than you possess, it also poses the risk that they might escape." he responded. "Well, why don't you restrain them? I was told I'd have my own personal army of guardians with me." I told him, still liking this plan better than our original.

"It could work, Dimitri. He does have a point, this time." Sonya said, making me feel pleased. Finally someone around here understood and valued my opinion. With the boss on board with me, there was no way Dimitri could win this argument. "Fine, restrain the strigoi. Don't blame me when something goes wrong." he said, shrugging and walking away. It was rare for him to get angry and it surprised me that we had managed to get him so worked up. "He had a fight with Rose before your lesson. Just give him a moment to cool off." Sonya explained, seeing my confusion in my aura.

I decided to use this time to try and tell Zoe the good news. She was the one who was more invested in this than any of us, regardless of the others' opinions. It was night, so she should be sleeping now. Leaning back, I began to focus on meditating and calling up spirit to form a spirit dream. It would be hilarious to see her reaction to one of them, especially with their beliefs on vampires and magic. My eagerness over the chance of some entertainment soon faded. No matter how much I concentrated, no dream formed. She was not asleep, not yet at least. It was strange, considering that it was almost midnight.

"What is that alchemist doing this late at night?" I mused, more to myself than anyone else. Sonya frowned, realizing what I was trying to do. "You can't reach Zoe? That is strange. She should be resting since she has school tomorrow." she responded, even though I hadn't meant to ask her a question. Something was wrong, that I was certain of. Zoe's sister must have found her, following through on the promise in her note from three months ago.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bloodlines or these characters, they all belong to Richelle Mead.

 **Okay, classes are about to start so this will be the last chapter for a while. I'm not getting many reviews or visitors lately, so my inspiration for writing this story is way down now. I won't give up yet, so please be patient and wait for my next chapter to all of you who have kept up with this story so far! I appreciate all of you, even those of you that don't review! I'll write and post quicker if I get more reviews, readers, or followers! Anyway, this ends my note so I hope you enjoy!**

 _Zoe_

Trey had blindfolded me when he brought me to the meeting. "Sorry, but I have to. They are big on secrecy, almost as big as your people are." he told me, giving me a half-smile. I shrugged, knowing that I had gotten myself into this anyway. We were going to have an interesting night, regardless of where we were going.

"Master Jameson, I've brought the alchemist as you requested." Trey said, once we had finally arrived. I felt the blindfold get removed from my eyes, making me blink as I felt lights shine on my face. We were in an isolated area, in what looked like a desert. No buildings, no plants, and no people were in sight outside of the three of us. It felt ominous, almost as if this place itself was working against me. The only light in the area was the flashlight currently held by the man I assumed to be Master Jameson.

"Excellent work, my boy. Zoe, I'm certain you've seen how impressive Trey is at sports, Just wait until you get the chance to see him fight in an arena." Master Jameson said, patting Trey's back proudly. I felt uncomfortable, uncertain of how to respond to that. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. Just what is it we will be discussing tonight?" I asked, confused. I had thought that this was about uniting us with the warriors, but maybe I was wrong.

"A union, between the Warriors of Light and the alchemists. We have been apart for far too long, sister. While your organization has nurtured intellectuals, ours has created individuals with strength that cannot be matched by anyone. Any of our members could take down a strigoi, single-handedly." he claimed, which made me have to suppress an eye roll. No human could have such confidence when facing a strigoi, regardless of their training. Those monsters were fast and strong, almost impossible to kill.

"So you are saying that by uniting, we can bring those two qualities together? I'm sorry, sir, but I just don't see the alchemists valuing strength in our line of work." I told him calmly, keeping everything in check. I would not insult him, not in this place where it would be so easy for me to be killed and forgotten about. Even if his claims were an exaggeration, I knew that I was not prepared to fight an average street mugger, let alone someone who had trained to hunt strigoi.

"Look, girl, there is much that you do not understand. Many years ago, our organizations were one. It was your erroneous belief, the belief that by working with some vampires humans would be safe, that led to our split. All of their kind is evil and must be destroyed. We have never forgotten this mission and we will not stop until their evil is vanquished." he told me, then surprised me by drawing a cross on his shoulder. It was the alchemists symbol, our sign against evil. He must be telling the truth if something so small as that gesture still remained a major part of their group.

Trey was standing silently by his side, not looking at me. He would follow his orders, even if he didn't believe in them. These people would kill all vampires, including those that were trying to help me. Part of me agreed with their beliefs, but I needed them to hold off long enough for me to save Sydney. Once I had my sister back, I would have no issues with them killing Sonya or Adrian. They might have been acting friendly, but it was still not enough. It was in their nature to be cruel and drink the blood of others, an unnatural act for anyone. Then, I felt a twinge of guilt for thinking that way about the people who were helping me. I would need to ignore these kinds of feelings if I wanted to be a true alchemist.

"I am sorry for the mistake, sir. What would-" I was cut off by the sound of laughter behind me. "So, you are the vampire hunters I've heard about that lurk around near Palm Springs. Care to prove your strength now and save this poor, defenseless girl's life?" a familiar voice asked. The menace to it, the hatred was not familiar, but I couldn't deny who was there. Carefully, I turned my phone on and selected a number from the list. I needed help from anyone, regardless of the danger to them right now. My sister was here and if help did not show up, I would be dead. I only hoped that one of my friends could figure out how to track my phone.

Trey was alert and moved quickly, trying to get me away from Sydney, but she was faster. In a move that I could barely even see, she knocked him on his back, mid-attack. Master Jameson moved to defend his warrior, giving out a battle cry. "Die, evil creature!" he called out, pulling a sword out from underneath his robe. He had concealed it so well that I never realized he had been walking around armed. I didn't have much time to react though, since Sydney was already focusing and planning her next move.

"Oh so this one has a weapon? Interesting. Judging by that charge just a few seconds ago and the length of the sword, I should stay a minimum of ten feet away from you in order to dodge your attacks completely. Once I have you tired out and distracted, it will be safer to move in closer for the kill." Sydney announced, sounding more like her old self by discussing facts. At the same time, it disturbed me. She was calmly discussing murder, something my innocent and loving sister would never do.

"Brothers and sisters, to my side at once! Help me slay this creature once and for all!" Master Jameson shouted. Suddenly, the desert seemed to move. From the ground, sheets of camouflage that had perfectly matched the ground were removed, revealing that we were completely surrounded by others. They stood up, all of them raising weapons of some sort to kill my sister.

"While this is all very interesting, I suggest you all back away from my student." said another familiar voice, joining the attack. I turned around and was shocked to be looking into the eyes of my history teacher, Ms. Jacklyn Terwilliger. She smiled at me, laughing at my shocked expression. "When any student disappears in the middle of the night, I find myself curious to discover what adventures they were looking for. Now, Zoe, stay behind me and be prepared to run." she told me, stepping forward and putting herself between me and Sydney. She was going to get herself killed and I could do nothing to stop it. The tattoo wouldn't let me warn her, not before she learned the truth of our world.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Bloodlines.

 **Alright, I am so sorry about keeping you waiting so long, but I am really losing inspiration fast for this story. I love those of you that are keeping up with it so far, but with the lack of reviews and the lack of views in general to this story for the month, I am feeling like this is becoming a lost cause. If you guys want to keep seeing more, please review and let me know. Otherwise, I don't think I'm going to get excited enough to finish this properly and it will probably end up rushing towards the end.**

 _Adrian_

The phone call was strange, especially when you considered who was calling. Zoe was showing as the caller, but she was not speaking, at least not to me. I heard someone's voice in the distance, shouting something about death. Other voices were heard, but far to quiet to actual tell what was going on. Zoe was trying to warn me of something, regardless of the fact that I couldn't figure out what.

While I didn't hang up, I did grow bored of listening to nothing over the phone. Zoe was unable to speak, but without directions or even the knowledge of where she was, this call was useless. She could yell and scream at the people around her all day, but in the end it wouldn't bring me any closer to finding her. "Sonya, do you know where Zoe is?" I asked, thinking maybe Zoe would have shared the information with someone. It would at least give me a clue as to what I was supposed to be doing with this phone call.

She shook her head, but grew interested in my question. "Zoe called you? What is she saying?" she asked, noticing that I was holding the phone up to my ear. I shrugged, trying to act calm when I knew something was wrong. "Nothing, just background noise. Probably dialed by mistake." I told her, trying to remain hopeful. First, I hadn't been able to find her in her dreams and now this call. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was wrong.

Sonya seemed to agree more with my thoughts than my words. "Adrian, this is serious. Zoe is an alchemist, which means while she might not like us, she does help us in many ways. If she is in danger, we need to find a way to help her." she told me, which I already knew. What I didn't know was how to do that. Tracking her phone might be possible, but I didn't know anything about how to do that. We probably needed to know more about her phone to do that anyway.

"What good would that do? Can you tell me where she is?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at Sonya. She frowned, but didn't give me an answer. "Exactly. Without knowing where she is, or even what is going on, we cannot help her." I argued, still relaxing on the couch. If she could miraculously figure out where the alchemist was, I would go and help. Until then, I would sit and wait, hoping for someone to give me a clue as to where she was.

Dimitri walked back in the room then, having calmed down from our previous disagreement. He noticed the tension in Sonya and immediately assumed I had done something wrong. "Adrian, what did you do this time?" he asked, shaking his head. "What makes you think it is my fault? Maybe Clarence did something." I replied, naming the only other resident of the house, even though he wasn't in the room right now.

"Zoe is missing and Adrian seems to think that it is pointless to try and help her." Sonya said, explaining the situation but leaving out a major detail. "And Sonya thinks that it is possible to help her without knowing what is wrong or where she is." I added, completing the explanation. Maybe it sounded heartless, but we really didn't have any way of helping the girl right now.

"Adrian, Sonya does have a point. Zoe has helped us multiple times with these experiments, putting aside her own discomfort for our benefit. We owe her and we should try to help." Dimitri argued. I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting to hear his genius plan to help. Dimitri knew everything, right? Maybe he could use his supposed god-like powers to save Zoe, instead of steal my girlfriend this time. "How?" I asked, one word to prove my own point.

He frowned, thinking about it for a moment. Sonya was thoughtful as well, still hopeful. _Those little fools. Only you understand what is going on, my special boy. Make them pay for doubting you._ Tatiana told me, irritating me. It had been a while since she had made an appearance, making me think I had better control over my spirit side-effects. This was only a reminder of how unstable my mind really was.

"If you can't answer that question, then stop telling me I'm wrong. I did not say that I didn't want to help, I am only claiming that we can't help." I told them, shaking my head. I got up and grabbed the keys Dimitri had left on the counter. At least they had a car to drive, unlike me. Today, I would be borrowing it. They stared at me as I walked out, concern on their faces and in their auras. With so many problems and no solutions, I really needed a drink. It was about time I did something about that for a change.


	12. Chapter 12

**So, I've gotten one more review telling me to finish this story. Thank you LadyMorgana38 for your review, you gave me enough motivation to make at least one more chapter! Views are still low overall though, so here is what I'll do. If you guys want another chapter, I will post another one after I receive five more reviews! Reviews inspire me to write, whether they are good comments or constructive criticism. Until I reach that point, this story will remain as is and I will be focusing on my other story for now.**

 _Zoe_

I was terrified and frozen, just like the last time I had seen a strigoi. I had avoided looking at Sydney this entire time, afraid of what I would see. Now that I was turned around, forced to move because of Ms. Terwilliger, I could see my sister. At first, she looked just like I remembered her, blond hair and calm and collected. That was before I noticed her eyes. They were cold and calculating, the heartless red eyes of a strigoi. They were the one thing that told me the person standing in front of me was no longer my sister, but something else.

"Another human? No matter, it is easy to determine how to act. Based on your attack patterns and distance from me and each other, I know exactly how to move and when to destroy all of you." Sydney commented, reminding me of just how much she knew. Unlike me, Sydney had memorized countless facts. It seemed that as a strigoi, she kept that knowledge but used it for darker purposes. Hearing her casually discuss killing others sent a chill through me, destroying the image of the sweet and protective sister I once knew.

Despite her words, the Warriors of Light began to attack. I could see their pride and strength, something that was truly impressive. In reality, they had underestimated my sister. She was a master of physics, knowing exactly how each of them would move and how much time it would take them to change directions. On top of that, she knew so much about anatomy, knowing exactly where to hit the body to kill it instantly. Sydney moved with lightning speed, dodging every attack with little effort. Once an opportunity arose for her, she would attack and crush her opponents before her. Some of them received broken necks, others received injuries to vital organs. All of her attacks were carefully planned and calculated, making me realize just how powerful she was right now. The fight was over almost before it began, resulting in the death of almost all the humans surrounding me.

I was crying silently, feeling helpless as she turned her gaze towards me. I had two guards left, Trey and Ms. Terwilliger. Trey was behind me, keeping an eye out in case Sydney circled around to attack. Ms. Terwilliger was in front, staring my sister in her face. "Only two left, then I will have her. I told you, Zoe, no one can protect you from the world you live in, no one but me. Tell them to leave and join me. If you do, I will let them live." Sydney promised, looking at me as she spoke.

Somehow, I managed to find my voice in the middle of my fear. It was as if that fear had been locked in the back of my mind and now a new, calm Zoe took control of myself. "No. I will not let myself be tainted by the darkness that surrounds you." I told her, standing taller now that I had blocked off my fear. I could ignore it and focus on thinking through the problem, instead of freezing and doing nothing.

"How naïve. I had once followed those beliefs myself, until I realized just how wrong we all were. This is not darkness or taint, sister, this is the true power we were meant to have. It is natural to be this strong, this fast. I am able to see everything, hear everything, all thanks to Kayla and Joshua. Soon, you will understand as well. Before that, I will deal with your friends." Sydney claimed, stunning me. She had touched her cheek as she spoke, bringing my attention to the next major change in her appearance, the one that hadn't been as obvious when I was focused on her eyes.

The lily that shown on every alchemists' cheek, the gold lily that represented our organization had faded. On Sydney's cheek was the same lily, but more like silver instead of gold. This change had to mean something, even if I didn't understand what. I knew that gold bound the moroi blood and magic to our systems. Then, I understood. Strigoi did not react well to magic. This change must have to do with the loss of magic in her tattoo. She was no longer bound to our organization, no longer required to stay silent about us or vampires.

"Sydney, please don't do this. I know that somewhere, deep down inside of you, my sister is still there. An alchemist would do everything to protect humans from creatures like what you've become." I begged, not wanting to see any more death tonight. Sydney smiled and shook her head. "You need to understand the ways of the world, sister. Not everyone gets what they want. The more pain you go through now, the more you will understand once you are awoken. This life, the life I have now, is the true life I was meant for." she told me, looking back at Ms. Terwilliger.

"Based on your appearance, I would say you are the easier target. His physique and muscular build tells me that he will be able to react quicker to my movements. Also adding in your age, while not terribly old, it is still old enough to slow down your actions. Removing the easier target first will give me more time to focus on the true challenge." Sydney mused, telling us her plans. It was strange to hear how she was thinking, but it also gave them an advantage. I knew that she would be coming from the front at first, so I moved back to get out of her way.

There was an amused glint in my teacher's eyes, making me wonder just what she had planned. "Oh? Well, I might be old but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Now, Zoe, I want to make a deal with you. If we get out of here alive, I want you to study with me, a new subject that you never would have dreamed of studying before." she commented, not even looking at me when she began speaking to me. "O-Of course." I stuttered, feeling unprepared for the question. I had no issue with promising her something that would never happen.

Sydney laughed, agreeing with my thoughts. She moved to attack my teacher, but that was when something truly amazing happened. Out of no where, with no warning, a brilliant flame burst up from the ground, surrounding the three of us and preventing Sydney from approaching. "What is this? Magic? All of you are human and only moroi can use magic! I will find you, vampire, and when I do you will regret aiding them!" she yelled out from the other side of the flames.

Smiling my teacher looked back at the two of us. "Now, I know you can keep a secret, Ms. Melrose. How about you, Mr. Juarez?" she asked, looking slightly strained but otherwise alright. My mouth dropped open, realizing exactly what she was implying. My beliefs and knowledge of this world had been blown to shreds with this new information. Humans could use magic and standing in front of me, was someone who knew exactly how to use it to her advantage.

"You win this time. Consider yourselves lucky, the first group ever to have outsmarted Sydney Sage. Mark my words, once you are alone, Zoe, I will find you and you will join me. I will not give up until I have made you unstoppable, so no one can harm you ever again." Sydney promised, after staying silent and searching for a few minutes. I breathed a sigh of relief, once I realized she had actually left. The flames dropped, leaving the three of us alone in the desert, surrounded by the bodies of the Warriors of Light.

I felt sick with the realization of what had just happened. All of these people had died because of me, because Sydney had targeted me. I felt guilty and wrong, unable to hold myself together any longer. My legs gave out and I collapsed on the ground, holding my head in my hands. I had forgotten all about the fact that my phone was still on, connected to Adrian. All I could remember were the faces of the people who had just sacrificed themselves to protect me.

 **Remember 5 reviews=new chapter! Tell me what you think if you want to read more.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Bloodlines.

 _Adrian_

Eventually, I gave up on the phone call. I hung up on the alchemist and sat down at the bar, deciding it would be the perfect time to get drunk and forget about my worries. At least alcohol normally made Tatiana disappear, along with all of the other benefits and side-effects of spirit. That way any craziness I felt was the result of alcohol, not insanity. I was done with all of this, with the strigoi hunt and with spirit. I just wanted it all to end for once so I could live my life in peace and figure out how to move on.

Rose was on my mind now, more than before. With Dimitri here, it was hard to forget. I could remember every moment with her, how she had told me she was getting closer to moving on. She had been so close to accepting me, then it all went down the drain when Belikov was saved. Her promises no longer meant anything and her heart was immediately given back to him. I had lost her the moment Robert told her that it was possible to save a strigoi.

Thinking of him gave me a new idea, one I had jokingly considered before but never actually planned on following through with. I did have a way out, a way to get out of the experiments and this strigoi hunt. All they needed was another spirit user and there was more than just me here. Robert Doru was out there somewhere, as was Oksana. Maybe one of them could take my place in this experiment. I was too hopeless to go through with it anyway.

That made me stop, thinking back to Rose again. _Victim._ It was one word, but it had hit me hard when she told me that it was how I felt. I had always played the victim, always being hit by the worst life had to offer and doing nothing to change it. Maybe this time, I could change. I didn't have a reason to go through with it, but it could be different this time. I had made a promise, something that I rarely did. Zoe was depending on me and it was about time I did something a little bit more productive than drink and party all the time.

Paying for my drinks, I got up and left. It was time to take a walk and clear my head, continue on this thought of my new productive life. Saving a strigoi held many dangers, but if I could get away with it I would be finished with this experiment. Sonya and Dimitri would leave, in order to escape the threat of vampire hunters in the area. I would be freed from the constant reminders of Rose and how she had left me. Maybe it was time I moved on and found someone else, but there was no one here to interest me. Jailbait was almost like a sister to me and far too young. The other moroi were in LA and more into partying than a serious relationship.

My phone rang again, making me remember how I had abandoned Zoe just a few hours ago. I felt guilty, even though I did not know how I could have helped. I should have at least stayed on the phone, in case she managed to say something about where she was at. Slowly, I picked it up and answered, hoping to get the chance to apologize for ignoring her before. "Hello?" I answered, forgetting to check the caller ID.

"I apologize for calling so late, but are you a friend of Zoe Melrose?" an unfamiliar female voice answered. I stiffened, feeling alert at the sound. Maybe this was Sydney, Zoe's sister. She might be targeting her sister's friends now, since she had accomplished her first goal. "That depends on who is calling." I responded, trying to sound casual as normal. I felt like some of my tension came through, regardless of how badly I wanted to keep myself hidden.

"Well, this is her instructor, Ms. Terwilliger. She is with me and I believe she may have given you a bit of a fright earlier when she called. It was a false alarm and I wanted to let you know that everything is just fine." the voice continued. I didn't know whether or not to believe her. I couldn't trust this person until I heard Zoe. I needed to know that our alchemist was safe before accepting her statement.

"Let me speak with Zoe then." I told her, feeling uncomfortable with the situation. There was some discussion on the other end of the line, making me wonder who else was there with this women. Another voice came on and began speaking to me instead. "Hey, this is Trey, one of her classmates. Zoe doesn't really feel like talking right now." he told me, making me snort in response.

"Of course she doesn't. I don't quite feel like talking either then, so goodbye." I told him, getting ready to hang up. "Wait! Are you her, um, brother? One of her siblings?" he asked urgently, as if this was one of the most important questions he could have asked. Debating, I finally decided it was pointless to hide it from them. It was our cover story, after all. "Yes, why?" I asked, and he sighed, sounding relieved.

"Great, then I can give you the full story. Zoe had been spending time with me and one of my…friends when a strigoi attacked. This one was crazy, wiping out almost fifty men in one shot without even breaking a sweat. Anyway, Zoe is pretty shaken up, but she is alive." he told me, making me freeze. Her phone call, the lack of sleep, it had been exactly what I feared. "The strigoi, what did she look like?" I asked, just wanting to confirm my suspicions and that it wasn't just a random attack.

"Why does that matter?" he asked, but I moved on ignoring his comment. "Blond, skinny, with a lily tattoo?" I asked, describing what little I remembered of Sydney. I had seen her briefly during her time at court, but I didn't have a good memory of her. Just another alchemist, I had thought. "Um, yeah. How did you know?" he asked. I smiled, deciding it was the perfect time for my own trademark commentary. "I know all hot girls, regardless of what race they are." I announced, then regretted it. It sounded a bit too extreme, even for me.

I sighed and decided to correct my statement before it did too much damage. "She's Zoe's sister. As you can see, they hold little in common now." I told him, feeling my humor fade. The dark mood I had been in was still dragging me down. "Well, just wanted to tell you about that. Have a nice night." he responded, sounding uncomfortable now. I sighed, shaking my head. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to get drunk tonight.

 **So, I must apologize for putting this story on hold for all of you in my desire to get reviews. I have a few self-confidence issues and not reviving feedback made me doubt myself when writing this story. I no longer remember quite where I was planning on going with this, but here is what I am going to do. I have a few chapters that I had outlined before I went on** **hiatus, so I will complete and add those to this story over the next few weeks. If you guys wish for me to keep going afterwords, I will need your help! Tell me where you want this story to go, and I will keep in in mind as I keep writing. I love getting feedback from everyone, it lets me know if I am keeping everyone in character or if I am failing miserably at writing this story. Silence tells me nothing and it leaves me feeling like I've done something wrong. In the event that I receive no feedback by the time I finish the chapters I have planned out, I will put this story up for adoption to anyone who wishes to complete it. I am sorry to all of you who were looking forward to seeing where this went, I really never planned on abandoning this when I first started it. It is still my first fanfiction out here, and I will still try and figure out where I want this story to end up. Please be patient with me and let me know what you want to see!**

 **One last thing, thank you to the guest who reviewed. I was so surprised to see a review posted to this story after so much time of silence, it really made my day. You inspired me to at least push out the next few chapters (I have until Chapter 18 outlined), so I thank you. I do have Sydney's restoration included in my plans, so even if this doesn't reach its complete end, you will get to see the scene you requested to have in your review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Bloodlines.

 _Zoe_

The rest of the week passed by in a blur. I was out of it, too focused on what had happened to react to anything said to me. I blanked out in classes, causing some of my grades to drop. My social status was unchanged, as I normally didn't speak with others anyway. The only ones who noticed the change were Trey, Ms. Terwilliger, and my 'family'. I had been avoiding them as much as possible, but today was Jill's feeding day. I would have to face them now, even though I had absolutely nothing in mind to tell them that explained my behavior.

I had bee getting ready to leave when Ms. Terwilliger stopped me. This was my last class of the day and I was wondering what she wanted from me. "Ms. Melbourne, I do believe we had an agreement the other night. I would like you to read this by next week Wednesday." she told me, handing me an old, leather book. It looked ancient, probably having been left on a desk somewhere for years. Glancing at the title, I realized it wasn't even in english. It was written in Latin, something that made me pause for a moment.

"Why am I reading this, m'am?" I asked, curious to know what I would be learning. She smiled at me, seeming happy to answer. "For your protection. You've seen what I'm capable of. I can sense some power in you, not quite as much as what I have, but still there. This will help you access and develop that power." she explained. I realized what she was implying and froze, not certain of how to react. She was forcing me…to learn magic. Something unnatural and wrong, that went against everything I believed in. Looking down at the book, I shook my head and planned on ignoring it all week. I didn't care what I had promised, my job was far more important.

I brought it back to my room and placed it on my desk, not even bothering to open it. I changed out of my uniform and got ready to meet Jill, Eddie, and Angeline for our trip to Clarence's. They were there a few minutes before me, due to my delay with Ms. Terwilliger. I kept my expression neutral, and nodded as a way of greeting them. "Hey, Zoe. Can we pick up food again like last time? Adrian seemed to like it." Jill asked, looking hopeful.

I had done that last time to get her to stop bothering me about it. She had pestered me for months about bringing Adrian food, talking about how he hated the food at Clarence's. I thought one time would be enough to get her to drop it, but apparently I was wrong. "No, we will go and get this over with, then return." I told them, not leaving any room for argument. "Don't forget, I am working with Adrian after her feeding today." Eddie added, reminding me about the experiment.

Thinking about that ultimately brought my thoughts back to Sydney. My sister, the one who had calmly calculated and then executed the murder of at least fifty people. The entire time, she had spoken to me as if it was some great gift, showing me how badly I needed protection. The only one I needed protection from right now, was her. Didn't she realize that?

"Okay Zoe, it is time to spill. What happened to you?" Angeline asked, being as blunt as ever. The others were at least a little more sensitive with their words, but not much better. "That is my business, Angeline. Your job is to protect Jill, nothing more." I told her, focusing on the road. I had to drive for the job, but it always made me nervous. My license was not technically legal, since I wasn't sixteen yet.

"Well, if you are in danger and near Jill, then that danger is affecting her making it my business." she concluded proudly, smiling at her statement. I shook my head in exasperation, not even dignifying that with a response. They did not deserve to hear anything about this. Vampires were all unnatural creatures. I thought they had learned that I kept to myself by now, but they never gave up.

"Angeline, leave her alone. Zoe just has a lot on her mind today." Jill said quietly, surprising me. Another vampire was trying to defend me, once again leaving me confused. They didn't feel compassion like we did, so why did she want to help me? I took a quick peek at Jill's expression, but saw nothing to help me. She looked stern, as if she was not going to back down from her statement. I didn't know what to say to her in response.

"Hey gang, who's up for a wonderful day of training?" Adrian announced as we walked inside. He was lounging on the sofa, his legs resting on the other seats while he leaned back on the armrest. His eyes met mine for a moment, looking suddenly serious before returning to his normally cheery self. I wondered what that had been about.

"You seem more excited about this than you have been in weeks." Eddie commented, looking surprised. "Well, I've had a, whatchamacallit, an epinaphy?" he frowned, trying to think of the word. "Epiphany?" I supplied, not wanting us to stand here too long while he figured out what to say. He pointed at me and nodded, "Yes, exactly. One of those. I can't get anywhere with my life if I don't try, Castille. I'm not giving up on fighting quite yet, so let's go learn how to punch!" he cheered, leaving all of us staring after them in confusion. I wondered what had really changed his mind or if it had been as simple as what he had said.

The rest of our time here was awkward. I never spoke, letting the others do as they wished. Today, however, they wanted me to be involved. They all seemed to be waiting for some cue from me as to when they could start speaking. Since I didn't speak, we all sat in silence as Adrian trained. As night began to fall, the others grew tired and still remained silent. Angeline was the first to break, the one who needed to do something to keep her attention.

"I'm going to check on Eddie and Adrian. Can't have them killing each other, though Adrian really is too pretty to put up much of a fight." she said, shaking her head and walking outside towards them. I glanced at my watch, wondering what was taking them so long myself. They had been working for hours, so they should have returned by now. That was when I truly got worried, realizing it was dark and remembering my sister's promise. While I wasn't alone yet, I was close to it. Jill was the only one left, but once she left, it would be the perfect time for her to follow through on her promise. Suddenly, this calm and routine feeding at Clarence's seemed far more dangerous than before.


	15. Chapter 15

_Adrian_

I hadn't really wanted to train with Eddie, but I wanted to seem normal for the alchemist. She had a lot on her mind and was probably already being interrogated by the others. She did not need me to join in. Even though she hated us and clearly wanted nothing to do with vampires, I could feel that I had a soft spot for her. There was something about her attitude that reminded me of Jill. They both had the same lack of confidence, the need for someone else to push them towards greatness.

"Today, we will work on staking. Unlike Dimitri, I believe you need to learn this quickly. For dhampirs, this would be different, but in our situation you need to learn how to get to your target's heart as quickly as possible. You will not have the strength to do this easily, but with practice it should be possible." he told me, making me sigh. Instead of showing me anything, he always had to start with a speech of what he planned on showing me. It was boring and frustrating, making me lose hope before we even started the lesson.

"Alright, so flirt and charm them up first, let my good looks catch their attention, then what?" I asked, not able to resist. Eddie sighed, but stayed focused on the lesson. "Literal heart, Adrian, not figurative." he told me. I smiled innocently, acting as if I had done nothing wrong. "My mistake. Please, continue lecturing me on what you plan on teaching me." I responded, and so our lesson continued.

It didn't take long for the lesson to bore me. I went through the motions, knowing it was necessary but at the same time not caring. I had worked with Sonya earlier in the week on charms, happy to have finally succeeded at charming a stake. It was in my pocket at all times, even if I hadn't finished training. I didn't even bother telling Eddie that Dimitri had begun covering staking with me, after the switch in our plans. Now that the plan was to restrain the strigoi, it wasn't quite as necessary for me to be able to dodge and run. It was now just a precaution, something that Dimitri wouldn't let me slack on regardless of my reason.

Staking had taken a bit for me to get the hang of, learning the right angle to use to get around the ribs and the fact that I hadn't been able to make much more than a dent in the dummy Belikov had set up. After what seemed like a hundred attempts to shove it in the heart, I managed to pierce through its 'skin', but it took another five shoves to push it far enough in to hit the 'heart'. I had been exhausted afterwords, and that hadn't even taken any spirit. I couldn't even begin to think of how tired I would be after actually restoring a strigoi.

With Eddie, it was like repeating my last session all over again. I could make progress in small increments, which he claimed was excellent, but it didn't go very far. It was going to take a lot of work to successfully pull this off, I realized. Dimitri's cautiousness was beginning to make sense to me, something that I had never excepted to happen. Next I was going to start agreeing that he was right about everything, just like most women. I shuddered at the thought, moving on quickly and focusing back on my next target with the stake.

Eddie stopped though, pulling away and looking alert. I recognized his switch from trainer into guardian, realizing there must be danger nearby. He had heard something, since even when working with me he had been aware of his surroundings. I was hardly able to focus on the lesson, much less what was going on outside the lesson and what he was saying. My thoughts occupied most of my focus and this was one thing I admired about Castille. He was an excellent guardian, no matter what everyone else said about him.

"A guardian? No matter, you are still no match for me." a voice said, as a figure appeared from the shadows. I recognized the blond hair, but that was about it. Her expression and tone were far different from what any alchemist would use. Her gaze and her tone were cold and calculating. On her cheek, I could see the remnants of an alchemist lily, now silver and faded instead of brilliant gold. The last thing sealing the deal on her transformation was her eyes. The red was a sure-fire sign of a strigoi, one of the non-living vampires.

Eddie was tense and did not show any reaction to her comment. "I can see that words have no effect on you. Your focus is excellent." she mused, observing us from a distance. I watched her as well, realizing that this was my chance. I had the elder Sage sister here and I had the stake, so if I timed it right, I could save her. It would only take a little bit of focus and effort to bring her back from this state.

"Adrian, get inside." Eddie told me, keeping his eyes on Sydney. "Hell no! What do you think I've been training for, show and tell?" I asked, getting upset. _That's it my boy. Show them what you are made of._ Tatiana added, but it didn't matter at this point. I had decided without her comments, so it wouldn't make a difference now. "Go inside or stay out here, it makes little difference. A moroi is no threat, far less than even a human is to me." Sydney added in, making me frown. Even the strigoi was doubting my ability. I now had no choice but to prove her wrong.

Angeline joined in, before the fight really began. "Eddie, what is taking so-" she cut off, seeing the strigoi in front of us. Angeline was probably thrilled, since she had been begging for the chance to prove her skills in battle and fight strigoi. I needed to get to Sydney before her, I realized. It was the only way to keep my promise to Zoe. "You are going to regret underestimating me, Sage." I told her, wondering if my knowledge of her name would throw off her focus.

"Adrian Ivashkov,, infamous party boy and the moroi boyfriend of Rose Hathaway, do you truly believe you can defeat me?" she taunted, her eyes narrowing and filling with doubt. I needed to keep up this cocky attitude, I realized. As a strigoi, this girl was filled with pride and needed to prove herself it seemed. "Wrong, I'm Adrian Ivashkov, moroi genius and alcohol abuser. Get your facts straight, Sage." I told her, watching her reaction carefully.

Eddie and Angeline were both looking at me like I was insane, but I was used to looks like that. Being crazy was part of what being Adrian Ivashkov meant, but it was a brand of crazy that even Sydney would be unprepared for. No one was prepared to handle me, not at first at least. "If you are a genius, than standards for intelligence must have fallen low amongst the moroi. I doubt you could even name the sixteenth president of the United States, or even tell me what he did." she scoffed, making me irritated. She was right, but I wasn't going to give in so easily.

My plans were derailed by Eddie and Angeline, trained guardians doing what they had been taught to do for years. "Enough! Hesitation will get you killed, Adrian, remember that!" Eddie yelled back, keeping his focus on Sydney. She was smiling, amused by the attack more than anything. I had never seen a strigoi seem so casual about a threat before. Then again, I hadn't seen many strigoi in the first place so maybe this was normal.

Eddie moved in quick, going for her heart almost immediately. "That isn't going to work on me, guardian." Sydney said, dodging the attack with ease. Her eyes were following their every move as both Eddie and Angeline danced around Sydney, looking for an opening. "Now I have the information I need. I know how fast you can move and how quick your reaction time is. With that knowledge, I know how far away to stay from you, when to dodge, and what attacks to use to dispatch you quickly." Sydney mused, making me groan. Even as a strigoi, this alchemist had to be a know-it-all.

I had to distract her and pull her attention back to me, but I didn't know how. Things were looking bad for Eddie. As hard as he tried, he was never able to get close enough to even scratch her with his stake. He made one last move to attack her, swiping his stake towards her arm, hoping pain would distract her. Sydney smiled, making me realize she had expected this attack. She reached down and grabbed his arm as it swung by her, using it to propel him across the garden and throw him effortlessly. Angeline wasn't doing any better and was showing signs of exhaustion already. She had not been the focus of Sydney's attacks, but Sydney had been able to dodge her anyway. As soon as Eddie was thrown aside, Angeline rushed over to help him, showing a distraction that could mean both of their deaths. Sydney was a strong opponent, one that was proving to be too much for these two guardians.

"I might not know facts, Sage, but I do know people." I called out, hoping to get her attention. I had a plan, one that I needed to time perfectly in order to get her at the moment she would least expect it. "Zoe, nice to see you've joined us." Sydney said, bringing my attention to the door where Zoe was standing quietly. "Leave them alone." she said quietly, not looking at us. At this point, Angeline and Eddie had backed off and were standing together, watching Sydney. Their first attack had failed and I knew that they were going to try again once they had recovered.

"Does that mean you are ready to join me?" Sydney asked, sounding pleased for a moment. There was something different about her when she looked at Zoe, as if a ghost of her former self was present in her eyes. This was the best distraction I would have, I decided, so it was time to move. There wasn't time to come up with a better strategy to restrain her, so I had to use magic. It would put a huge strain on me in the end, but I didn't have any other choice.

Focusing, I drew on spirit to grow plants by her feet, forcing them to surround her legs and bind her in place. By the time Sydney realized what was happening it was too late. "No, I will not be joining you, Sydney." Zoe responded, watching and stepping back as she saw my magic. I could see her fear, probably added to now that I had used magic around her. "What is this? Magic…Spirit magic…I had forgotten." she mused, answering her own question. Glancing at me, she smiled. "Perhaps you were right, Adrian. This is the second time I have been outsmarted and I congratulate you, but this does not mean you have won." she told me.

I moved forward, feeling uneasy but confident at the same time. She had something planned, but she was not as motivated as I was. Seeing her attitude, so different from any alchemist I had seen before, it only proved how unnatural this state was. She needed to be saved from this state, from something that would horrify her true self. It didn't take me long to get to her side and pull out my enchanted stake, ready to bring her back with just one blow. Well, one blow repeated multiple times at least.

As I began the process of staking her, she screamed and tried to fight back. With her arms and legs restrained by my plants, she could only move her head but at this range, it was enough. She got her head close to my neck and bit down, hard. I felt the endorphins rush into my system, giving me a high unlike no other. I was in a sea of joy, one I never wanted to leave. A vague memory of a promise, something I had to do, helped me hang on. _Push one more time._ I thought, moving through the haze. I shoved against something, not looking at what it was and I felt my body being released as she screamed in pain once more.

This time, it was different. Her scream vanished as spirit flowed throughout of me, almost beyond my control. I was in a new domain, a place where I could see Sydney's soul, her true self floating and lost, untethered to her body. Spirit wrapped around it, healing anything that was harmed and tethering it back down to her body. In that haze, I felt a brief connection to her, a sense of her mind and feelings. I could feel a great amount of guilt and sadness at what she had done, but also hope and dreams. She had longed to be free from the alchemists and now she had gotten there. Her guilt was far more overwhelming than her hope, though.

As the swirling light and haze in my mind vanished, my magic weakened and the sense of her soul faded away. I found myself sitting in the garden at Clarence's house, holding Sydney against my chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. I felt my own shock from what had happened, not only the overuse of spirit but from what I had seen. In her, I had seen someone brave, trusting, and caring weighed down by the guilt of what had happened. She had been amazing, brilliant, and able to do anything she put her mind to. I realized that without even speaking to her, I had seen enough to start to love this broken girl. I would stay by her side and help her heal, no matter what it took.

 **Thank you for the reviews, Audete and Guest! I really appreciate the help trying to give me some ideas, I might do a one shot of Sydney's POV during her time as a strigoi later on if I'm still unsure of where to go with this story.**

 **I hope I did well writing Sydney's restoration. I wanted it to be in Adrian's POV because I wanted to try and elaborate on what Lisa explained during Spirit Bound. Once again, feel free to leave any comments, constructive criticism, or questions in a review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Bloodlines.

 _Zoe_

The magic had amazed and terrified me at the same time. Watching him trap my sister was hard, but I knew it was part of his plan to bring her back. What had been even harder was standing aside while my sister was ensnared in a golden light, a burst of pure magic that seemed to take physical form. If I hadn't been an alchemist, I might've called it beautiful. The color was amazing, wrapping around her and Adrian. I had felt the urge to rush over and grab my sister, to save her from what I knew was wrong and unnatural. It took a lot of focus to keep myself still and let it wash over her. The only reason I did so was the knowledge that this magic would heal her and bring back my real sister.

Once it faded, I wanted to run forward and hug my sister. I wanted to be the first person who saw her and spoke to her after what she went through. I took a step forward, then stopped at the scene I saw. Adrian and Sydney had sunk to the ground and they seemed to be embracing. I was too shocked to move after seeing that. Adrian had his arms around my sister and was stroking her hair while Sydney seemed to cling to his shirt desperately. She was sobbing and looked absolutely miserable. Adrian seemed to be the only thing keeping her grounded right now.

"He actually did it. I didn't think he was ready, but he actually did it." Eddie whispered, just loud enough to be heard in the silent garden. I was amazed as well, especially since Adrian didn't seem like he had really wanted to do this in the first place. Yes, he had agreed to save my sister, but I didn't actually believe he would go through with it. I didn't think he would be able to keep his promise.

Angeline was frowning too. "Looks like he was able to be pretty and useful after all." she commented, making me shake my head. All she cared about was how well someone could fight it seemed. There were far more things to focus on in people in my mind, for example, their race. Avoid any and all vampires because they are unnatural and only befriend humans. That was what I believed and what I followed. Watching the group here made me question that belief, but the alchemists couldn't be wrong. I felt in my heart that they would never lie to me, not about something like this.

Sydney still hadn't said a word or pulled away. It made me uncomfortable, watching her get so close to a vampire She had followed the same beliefs I had, so she should be fighting to get away. Maybe she hadn't realized that it was a moroi with her, since she was so upset. "Sydney?" I asked hesitantly, stepping forward to see if she would talk to me.

Adrian reacted first, stiffening and turning his head towards me. His eyes seemed to have some kind of fire in them, despite his obvious exhaustion. It faded after a moment, leaving him just looking tired and not angry as he shook his head. "Zoe, not now." he told me, turning back towards my sister. It didn't make any sense to me, to have him keeping me away from her. She was my sister and she meant nothing to him.

"Adrian, you do realize what we have to do now." Eddie commented, overhearing what he had told me. Adrian shook his head, disagreeing with him. "I don't care, Eddie. She isn't ready to be a part of this ridiculous experiment of ours." Adrian argued, not even bothering to turn his head this time. I looked over at Eddie, wondering if this was normal behavior for Adrian. His confusion mirrored mine, however, telling me that there was more to this than I realized.

Jill walked outside and joined us a few moments later, looking dazed and confused. "Adrian? Are you okay?" she asked, frowning as she saw him. I wondered what made her think something was wrong, but then I remembered that this lesson had gone a few hours longer than normal. Glancing at my watch, I realized we were out after curfew for Amberwood and would be in trouble when we got back. I sighed, knowing that detention was a small price to pay to get my sister back.

Adrian glanced back again, this time looking confused. The two of them always seemed to know what was going on with each other, something I found strange but had accepted. No one was giving me an explanation anyway, so I had just decided they were close friends. "I'm fine, Jailbait." he responded, looking back towards Sydney after his short answer.

"Adrian, since you won't do it, I will. I'm calling Sonya." Eddie announced, pulling out his phone. The fire returned to Adrian's eyes, this time not fading away. "No. You do that and you will ruin Sage's life. Give her some peace for just a moment." he said, glaring at Eddie. "This is why we are here, what we were training you to do. We need Sonya here to see if there is anything obviously different in her than there is in a normal human." Eddie argued, staying calm.

Things were getting tense and I felt like I should leave. I didn't want to be here if the vampires were going to fight. "You don't know what she is going through right now. Back off and wait until tomorrow." Adrian responded, not backing down. I could see the tension in both of them and Eddie's confusion. "Why are you so concerned about that anyway? It's not like you know her." he asked, still holding his phone to call Sonya.

Adrian hesitated, clearly debating how to respond. I wanted to know as well, since his reaction was far greater than I expected. I was glad that someone was defending my sister, but I never expected Adrian to do that, not with his attitude towards everything. "Part of restoring her. I saw her pain, briefly, when she was being healed." he said after a moment, but I didn't believe him. For some reason, I felt like he was hiding something from us.

Eddie caught on too, and narrowed his eyes. He was about to say something to Adrian when another voice joined in. "Both of you just stop it. Tell me what you want to do and then I'll decide if I am willing to go through with it or not." Sydney said, pulling back from Adrian and looking at us with puffy eyes. She had been crying, but was now focused on this problem. I was proud of my sister for seeing her mistake so quickly and finding something else to focus her mind on.

"They want to use you as part of an experiment, Sage. We've been studying restored strigoi, trying to see how to mimic their immunity to being turned back on others. As a recently restored strigoi, they want to study you more than anyone else." Adrian told her, looking angry still but his voice did get softer when he spoke to her. It had more of his normal, care-free tone instead of being tinged with anger. I was lost, trying to determine why he was so worried about my sister.

Sydney nodded, looking thoughtful for a moment. She probably hadn't heard anything about this, since Lee had only died recently. Closing her eyes, Sydney sighed. "I might not feel the greatest right now, but if there is any chance of preventing others from going through this, I would like to help." she told them, making her decision. Adrian nodded, and looked to Eddie to tell him to make the call. His sudden switch was amazing, how he had dropped his entire argument in seconds just because Sydney told him to. I wasn't ready to let this go, not quite yet. I would figure out what was really going on here.

 **So, we are getting to the point where I will be stuck for a while in writing this story. Ideas would be quite helpful, because at the moment, this will simply become a rewrite of the Indigo Spell with Zoe as the main character and a few bits of Sydney's recovery thrown in. I really don't have any other ideas for this at the moment and I would prefer to write something a bit more original than that.**

 **To be honest, I discovered that I enjoy crossovers better than writing in single fandoms. If anyone wants me to try and change this into a crossover, let me know and tell me what fandom you'd like to see mixed in! I have a few listed on my profile if you want to know which ones I will work with (For some reason, I got an idea to mix Fairy Tail in with this, though I still didn't quite have an ending for it if I did).**

 **Anyway, I've at least gotten through Sydney's restoration, though there is going to be quite a bit of aftermath on her emotionally. Hope you guys think I did that scene justice, I haven't gotten any feedback on it yet. Anyway, feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer** : I am not the owner of Bloodlines

 _Adrian_

I hadn't moved since I restored Sydney. I wasn't going to let her go through this on her own, not right now. She didn't seem to mind my presence. Her aura seemed calm, outside of the guilt and misery from what she had just went through. It was strange thinking that an alchemist was comfortable being so close to a vampire, but she wasn't just any alchemist. She had been friends with Rose and had made some kind of deal with Abe. Her beliefs weren't as solidified as most alchemists'.

It didn't take Sonya long to arrive and most of us just sat in awkward silence while we waited. Sydney had gone back to resting her head against my chest, not crying anymore but still leaning on me for support. I heard Zoe's gasp when she went back to that, but ignored it. Zoe didn't understand what Sydney was going through. The younger Sage sister just couldn't comprehend why Sydney was so desperate for help right now.

Dimitri arrived with Sonya, which didn't bother me today like it normally would have. His presence had annoyed me for so long, but after all of the fighting and magic I used today, I was too exhausted to put up much of an argument against him. "Adrian, I need you to step away so I can get a closer look at her." Sonya told me, making me frown. I didn't want to back away, not when Sydney was in such a vulnerable state.

When I didn't comply, Sydney did. She pulled back, gently touching my arm. "It's alright, Adrian. Thank you for trying to help." she whispered, quiet enough that no one else heard. I nodded and let her back away, watching both of them carefully. I heard Dimitri's soft intake of breath as he recognized the girl in front of him. Sonya's eyes widened as well, surprised to see the alchemist in front of her. Both of them had met Sydney before, but neither of them had realized what happened to her.

"Sydney? How…never mind, that can wait." Sonya said, shaking her head. I could see her curiosity, but she was focused on the first task she had. I could sense that she was using spirit from where I was, but I didn't have enough energy left in me to help. Sonya had been right when she said two spirit users were needed for this. After restoring Sage, I didn't think I had enough energy to heal a paper cut. What Sonya needed to do required far more spirit than that.

"I think I see…something." Sonya whispered, frowning. I could tell she was trying to solve this mystery, but it was taking longer than any of us expected. While we waited, Zoe walked over and sat down next to me. "Why are you really helping my sister?" she asked in a whisper, her eyes narrowed at me. I could tell that she didn't believe my first response, even if it had been partially true. I just didn't elaborate on how I felt about what I saw. The person I had seen was someone I wanted to meet, someone I wanted to be worthy of being around.

Did I really want to tell Zoe about that? With her views on vampires, she wouldn't believe me. It would disgust and horrify her, hearing that a vampire actually cared about her sister. Looking at Zoe, I could tell that I didn't have another option. She was stubborn and would not drop this anytime soon. "Do you really want to know? Once I tell you, you won't be able to forget it." I told her, giving her one more chance to back down.

Zoe looked over at her sister, who was now having her blood drawn by Sonya for testing. "Yes, I want to know. My sister is the most important person in the world to me. I would do anything for her because I owe her my life." she responded. I sighed, shaking my head. "Keep in mind, you were the one that asked, alchemist. You won't like this answer, but I saw a bit more than I claimed before. It was almost like a bond formed, just for a brief moment. I could see who Sydney used to be and how it was affected by what she had become. Seeing all of that, inside of her head and how she felt, I couldn't help but care about her." I told Zoe, keeping my voice low so others wouldn't overhear.

It took Zoe a moment to understand what I was saying. Once she did, she was furious. "What? That is just…beyond revolting. Stay away from my sister, vampire. She is an alchemist and not someone for you to play around with." she responded, her voice getting louder. I ignored her comment, deciding that Zoe was not the ultimate authority on her sister right now. Sydney was capable of thinking for herself and making her own decisions.

Sonya finished but she was frowning at the blood she had drawn. "The spirit is leaving already, after only seconds of being separated from her. I need to find a way to contain it." she murmured, thinking out loud. I had already done my part with the magic, but I had no issue giving her an idea. "Maybe a charm? Find some silver and surround her blood with it to contain the magic." I offered, not quite sensing what she felt. Regardless, she seemed to agree with the idea.

"I will be back in just a moment with something to use to contain it. Sydney, would you mind giving me one more vial when I return?" she asked, looking at the still overwhelmed alchemist. Hesitantly, Sydney nodded in agreement. While I could tell she was uncomfortable right now, she longed to help others. After Sonya left, Sydney stared around at the rest of us awkwardly. None of the others seemed to know what to say to her and I was just as lost as them now. I may have seen inside her head briefly, but I did not know what she wanted now.

"Thank you, for bringing me back from that darkness. You have no idea what it was like…" she began, trailing off with a haunted look in her eyes. I wanted to step forward and comfort her, but Zoe was already glaring at me for being the focus of Sydney's conversation. I decided that while I was not going to listen to her opinion, it would be best not to push her anger at this point. Zoe was already going through a lot with the return of her sister, so I would back off for now.

"No problem, Sage." I responded, still sitting on the ground. I was beginning to feel the darkness from my spirit use tonight, something I was trying to ignore and push to the back of my mind. It would be hard to stay focused right now, but I was determined to push through. "Anyway, I really don't know what to do at this point. Is there a place for me to stay nearby?" Sydney inquired, glancing around the yard we were in. None of us had made a plan for this and we glanced at each other for a solution.

"Yes, there is. It had been my apartment, but I recently moved into the dorms. I was told that they were still paying for it for the year, so you are welcome to stay there while you recover." Zoe said eagerly, looking happy that she had been the only one able to help her sister. I did not see why it was such a big deal, but let it go anyway. Zoe wanted to prove something to Sydney and I was not going to get in her way. With arrangements made, Sydney fell back into silence, staring at the ground and looking lost once more. It would take more than one conversation to bring her back. I could see that she had a long ways to go before she was going to be herself again.

 **Thank you again Audete for your reviews! Feel free to PM me when you get the chance, I'd really appreciate any suggestions you have. Anyone else can do the same if you have a suggestion but don't want it placed in a review. Otherwise, just let me know what you think so far. I've only got one more chapter planned out, and I don't know what I'm going to do for this story after that. Ideas are welcome, let me know what you want to read!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Bloodlines.

 _Zoe_

I couldn't get over how excited I was to have Sydney back. I was driving her towards the apartment, waiting for her to say anything to me and start talking like we used to. She stared out the window, remaining silent and refusing to even look at me, just like before. It was annoying, but I tried to ignore it. As her sister, I wanted to give her some space to recover from this. After all, I knew that I would not cope well after being a creature of darkness like she had been. Sydney must have a lot on her mind, especially after what happened.

"Hey, we're here." I said quietly, glancing over and seeing if she would say anything. I saw her give a small nod in response, opening the door and climbing out without saying a word. That was the last straw, the end of my patience. She might not want to have a full conversation with me, but I would not accept her refusing to speak at all. "Sydney? Aren't you going to say anything to me?" I asked, feeling pain along with my anger. I followed her inside the house, waiting for some kind of response from her. Her eyes gazed around the room, flickering over the furniture and remaining decorations from when I had lived here.

"Just what do you want me to say?" Sydney asked, her voice sounding upset and lost. She didn't look at me yet, seeming to focus on the wall in front of us instead. "You're my sister! I finally get you back, after months of thinking you were dead or even worse, and this is what you do? I miss you, Sydney. I want to hang out like we used to, talk about mom and dad. Heck, I'm an alchemist too now, I could use some advice on how to deal with these creatures." I complained, stepping forward and grabbing her wrist. I was getting more upset as I went on, letting my frustration out on her. It probably wasn't the best thing to do, but I had always been used to going to Sydney for help with any problem. I didn't hide anything from her and that still hadn't changed.

Sydney seemed to have other ideas, it seemed. "That is exactly the problem. Do you think that for one moment, the alchemists' would accept me back? Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset with losing the job, not as much as you might think. As an alchemist however, you will be expected to hate me, to avoid all contact with me after I've been tainted so much. In fact, I don't even blame them for feeling that way. I deserve to be treated like that, after everything I've done." she argued, shaking her head. I stepped closer, getting a look at her face as she spoke. I could see tears beginning to fall, making me wish there was something I could do to help her.

At the same time, I had a sinking feeling that she was right. Sydney had been a vampire, one that killed others and drank blood for survival. The mere thought of that horrified and disgusted me, even if she was back to normal now. Thinking about how she returned to normal was just as bad, remembering the swarm of magic that surrounded her. Following the thinking of a proper alchemist, I should be avoiding her and the taint that would never leave her at this point. I wanted to make my dad proud, but this was just too much for me to handle. I couldn't abandon my sister, regardless of how close to that darkness she was.

"I don't hate you, Syd. I could never hate you, not after everything we've been through." I told her softly, hoping she would calm down and recover. She gave me a weak smile, shaking her head. "We can't go back, though. You're an alchemist, that lily on your cheek says it all. You have to follow their rules, Zoe, no matter what you want to do." she told me, her hands shaking. "That is the one thing I don't miss. Maybe I was helping humanity with that job, but I was still a prisoner to their beliefs. Now, at least I am free to be my own person, to do whatever I want with my life." she continued, seeming to calm down with that thought.

I knew she had a point, but at the same time, I didn't have to tell the alchemists. Sure, tell them that we had restored a strigoi and were doing more research. That would be fine, as long as they didn't know who it was. Sydney could stay and we could be sisters again, regardless of what she claimed. "You'll always be my sister, no matter what they say. This happened because you tried to protect me. I'm not going to repay you by just abandoning you because the alchemists tell me to!" I argued, begging her to let me help her in any way.

"I'm not going to let you go through that! Not after what I…" Sydney yelled, her voice trailing off at the end. "How can you even forgive me for that?" she asked in a quieter voice, her brown eyes filled with guilt and regret. I knew what she was talking about, but even so I didn't have an answer. I had locked away the part of me that had been afraid, the part that was worried about what she would do to me. Now, there was nothing to fear from her. I could see her humanity, the fact that she was normal again. It didn't change what she had done, though, even if I was ignoring it.

"I don't know." I told her, glancing at the ground. It was as if strigoi Sydney had been an entirely different person, to me at least. That hadn't been my sister, not in any way. It helped me separate them and avoid getting upset with Sydney now, even if it wasn't exactly true. "Zoe, even if you can forgive me, I don't think I can forgive myself." she told me, pulling her arm out of my hand and walking away from me. "Sydney, it isn't about what you did before. Nothing can change that, not now. Focus on what you can do to make it better in the future." I told her, feeling like she was too lost in her guilt to move on. I wanted my sister back, but this wasn't the sister I remembered. Something was wrong with her and I was determined to help.

"That is why I'm helping them with their research. I can't fix this, not for us Zoe. You are an alchemist and I am not going to be the reason you go to re-education. Go home and let me deal with this on my own." Sydney told me, her voice hard and stern. I felt like crying, knowing that I was losing her. "This isn't over, Sydney. I'll be back and I will not let you ignore me." I told her, deciding that I would not make anymore progress tonight. I turned around and walked outside, leaving her alone in the apartment. Tomorrow had originally been a training day for Adrian, but with Sydney restored I didn't know if I would have to bring Eddie over. I had lost my excuse to see Sydney, unless they decided to have her come and do research on her. The very thought made me feel sick, thinking of them using their unnatural magic to study her so soon after she came back.

As I drove and thought about the experiment, my mind went back to Adrian and his attitude. He was even worse than the others, who simply wanted to study her. He actually thought he could convince me that he cared for her, that he wanted to protect her. He was a vampire, there was no way he could feel anything for my sister. Even if it was possible, the thought was disgusting and wrong. Even vampires avoided too much contact with humans, agreeing that it was unnatural to have any kind of relationship with them. Sure, friends were okay to them, but anything more? That was reserved for the Keepers, not the majority of their population. I laughed out loud to myself, realizing just how much I was overthinking this. Adrian might have tried to protect her, but that did not mean he loved her. He had said nothing about that, so I was just overreacting.

As I arrived back at Amberwood, I had to deal with speaking to Mrs. Weathers about how late I was when getting back. Dimitri and Sonya had offered to drive Eddie and Jill back, something that I was grateful for, but it still meant that I was back far past curfew for the dorms. "I'm sorry m'am. I'll do my best to be back on time after my next trip." I told her, making no promises to actually come back on time. "You will be serving your detention tomorrow, Ms. Melrose. I do hope that this doesn't happen again." she responded, giving me a stern look. I did my best to look guilty and upset, keeping up the image of a student caught sneaking out for a night of fun.

As soon as I was done dealing with that, I collapsed in my bed and stared at the ceiling. I should report back to the alchemists right away, but I was afraid of what they would say. Sydney's words were still on my mind, keeping me aware of how they would see her now. That silver lily was a sign, a sign that she would never be an alchemist again. They would not accept her, that was something I was certain of. I just hoped that they would not take her away from me, forcing us apart with their belief that they knew what was best. Sighing, I decided to hold off on reporting to my superiors. It wouldn't do any harm, not when the real research hadn't even started. Tomorrow, I would think of a way to tell them about this and protect Sydney at the same time. She had kept me safe, now it was my turn to do the same for her.

 **Thank you for the review! One again, your words are incredibly appreciated. Just a heads up, I'm starting another job soon so I will not be able to update as often as before. I'll still be trying to work on my writing (though I'm still searching for an idea for an ending to this one) so be patient, chapters will still come out eventually right now.**

 **As always, feel free to leave any comments, questions, or criticism (please be constructive, if given) in a review!**


	19. Chapter 19

_Adrian_

The backlash from spirit was worse than I expected. I lost track of time, spending all of it in a dark mood. I was depressed, not interested in anything or anyone. Dimitri and Sonya tried to get my attention at times, but this magic had taken its toll on me. While the others had been around, I was able to hide it but now I was lost to the side-effects of my magic. Eventually, Dimitri and Sonya decided it was time to try and pull me back into work, regardless of how I felt about it.

"Adrian, you can't keep doing this to yourself. We have work to do and we could really use your help." Dimitri said, seeing me slouching on the couch and staring at the wall. I had managed to avoid drinking this time, remembering what happened last time I got drunk. I had forgotten about Zoe, letting her deal with facing her sister on her own. Even if the alchemist hated us, I should have tried to do something. Now, I was forcing myself to feel the full side-effects of spirit in order to make sure I could help, if it was necessary.

"These hands don't sully themselves with manual labor, Belikov. Try asking someone else." I told him, closing my eyes and hoping for some sleep at least. I was starting to recover at this point, but it still wasn't quite fixed. "Adrian, enough. That girl is our only chance to protect others. Don't you want to save our people? She holds the answers, I know she does." Sonya commented, siding with Dimitri once more. Things were going back to normal it seemed, with me always being bossed around by the others.

Mentioning Sydney did distract me, however. I didn't know if they had seen her since she had been restored, but part of me still didn't want them to be experimenting on her. That brief connection was gone and now, my mind was clearer and able to see the mistake of what had happened. I didn't care about her, not at all. I didn't even know the girl, despite what I thought I had seen. It was probably part of these side-effects, some hallucination brought on by spirit. Sydney was just a regular alchemist, recovering from a traumatic experience. I didn't need to concern myself with another problem. Being in love with a dhampir had been hard enough. Dating a human would be virtually impossible, especially with the opinions of the entire moroi race. I wasn't going to deal with that issue, not when it was so easy to ignore and forget about it entirely.

My own focus on her, said something else however. Despite the fact that I was trying to convince myself that it was nothing but my imagination, I couldn't get what I had seen out of my head. "Saving the world is your job, not mine. I'm just here for the entertainment, watching on the sidelines while you and Belikov do all the hero work." I told her, shaking my head. They were clearly annoyed with my attitude, but they would learn to deal with it. I wasn't in the mood for more of their experiments and this time, not even an order from Lisa would make me help them.

"The others are here. We'll deal with this later, Adrian." Sonya said, giving me a stern look before walking towards the door. I frowned, thinking about who the others were. Had it really been three days already? I didn't know, but it was the only thing that made sense. Looks like I might get a break from dealing with the research crew for a bit while the Amberwood crew was here.

"Adrian! You won't believe what happened in class today. I was working on my paper and…" Jill announced in greeting, but I lost interest quickly. Normally, I would at least try and pay attention to her while she was here, but today was just not a good day for me. "Adrian, are you okay?" she asked after a moment, having stopped with her rant about what some girl from class did to her. Most of her complaints were similar, relating to some girl who was intent on tormenting Jill. Her name had been Lauren, or something like that. I could never keep track of it, but I did my best to help Jill with her issues when I could.

"Nothing to do about it, Jailbait. I'll live." I told her, sighing and leaning back. "So this is what spirit does to people. I've read about it before, but I've never actually seen it for myself." another voice commented, making me turn and look at the other people in the room. Eddie and Angeline were here, like normal for Jill's protection. Zoe was here, simply because she was doing her job. Like usual, she was staying silent and sitting as far away from the rest of us as she could. She was back to her normal glaring at us while we spoke, making me realize that helping Sydney had done nothing to improve Zoe's opinion of us.

There was one more person here, however, one that I had not expected to see. "Welcome back to the house of horrors, Sage. What brings you back around here?" I asked, glancing at the blond. She rolled her eyes at me, clearly not impressed with my commentary. "Research, of course. Sonya asked if I would join you for more studies. I think she mentioned wanting to look at my aura today?" she added, looking towards Sonya for confirmation. Sonya nodded, smiling at Sydney and joining us in the living room.

"I never thought I'd see the day when an alchemist would volunteer for magic experiments." I added, chuckling slightly. Her face hardened slightly and she stiffened in reaction to my comment, making me realize that she wasn't comfortable with this. "If it helps save others, then I will go through with it." she said stiffly. I watched Zoe reach over and grab her sister's hand, but Sydney pulled away and glared at her sister. "Zoe, we talked about this already." she said harshly, making me wonder what had happened between the two sisters.

Zoe's eyes looked hurt, before her emotions vanished behind her alchemist demeanor once more. "Of course, I apologize for my rude behavior Sydney. Please, continue with your conversation with these unnatural creatures. Let me know when you are ready to speak with someone of your own race." she said calmly, walking out and giving the rest of us a harsh glare. "Careful what you say, alchemist. You might just make one of us unnatural creatures upset." I told her, with a small smirk on my face.

I saw a small amount of her old fear return, making her hurry outside. "I will be waiting in the car for you to finish. If I am needed, come and let me know." Zoe added, walking out and leaving us alone. "Adrian, did you really have to say that to her?" Sonya asked, shaking her head at me. "I speak my mind, Sonya. She's the one who called us unnatural." I replied, wondering if that comment had partially come from my dark mood.

Sydney was silent, however, something that I found strange. I thought that she might try and defend her sister, but she said nothing. "That doesn't give you the right to torment her. She's been through enough lately. I was hoping she would stay and help us with our studies, but now there is no chance of that happening. At least try to think about your words before you speak, Adrian." Sonya said, clearly upset with my words. I had to admit, she had a point with having Zoe help. We needed a control subject to study, especially since we were looking at human auras. Neither of us were too familiar with them and it would help to have one to compare Sydney's to.

"Will we still be able to move forward without her?" Sydney asked, speaking up finally. She seemed calm, but something made me think there was more going on then she was showing. Deciding it was worth the risk, I used a small amount of spirit to get a glance of her aura. I frowned as I tried to read it, struggling since I didn't know her well enough to read the subtle changes in color that I saw. All I could tell was that she was guilty and uncomfortable right now. It was yellow, but the slight dulling in brightness alerted me to the fact that she was upset.

I cut off the flow of spirit, realizing that this would not get me anywhere. What was the point of knowing how she was feeling anyway? It didn't help this experiment and it wouldn't get me out of Palm Springs any sooner.

"Of course, we will have to make do without her." Sonya insisted, smiling at Sydney. The elder Sage sister looked doubtful, but didn't question her. "What do you need me to do?" she asked, now leaving me out of the conversation. I smiled and closed my eyes, happy to be ignored for once. As Sonya began to explain what she would be doing, I started to drift off. It was Sydney that pulled my attention back towards the room, reminding me that I was supposed to be doing some kind of work here. "Are you going to help, Adrian?" she asked, staring at me.

"Nah, I'm still worn out from bringing you back from the land of the walking dead. Agent Scarlet has this under control." I told her, watching Sonya sigh, shaking her head at my nickname and my words. Sydney frowned as well, glancing back at me with a curious expression on her face.

"Oh? How long does it take for a spirit user to recover from something like this? The Alchemists don't really have a lot of info on you guys yet." she asked, sounding a bit more comfortable for a moment. That was before her face darkened, her hand touching her cheek with a sad look in her eyes.

That girl wasn't fooling me, though, I knew she wanted an out from the Alchemists and one had just been handed to her on a silver platter. She just needed to get used to the fact that she was free, and break away from her old habits. "Adrian is just being a big baby about this. It really doesn't take that long to get over it. After all, we spirit users are made of tougher stuff than other moroi. Makes us a bit more resilient to the…side effects of our magic." Sonya argued, looking a bit amused.

I had to disagree with her on that, there was no way I was making any of this up. I closed my eyes, feeling the darkness weighing heavily on my mind. It kept me depressed, thinking of my past mistakes and everything wrong with my life. Part of me knew that this wasn't me, that I wasn't usually this morbid in my thoughts, but at the same time, I couldn't quite get it to stop. _How could you just let her go, my precious boy? You should have fought for Rose while you had the chance. Now, you must get your revenge, the one who stole her is right there, you just need to take her back._ Tatiana told him, making me grimace even further. Her voice was louder when I was like this, blending in almost with my thoughts. It made it hard to separate her voice from reality, which was why I preferred solitude when I was like this.

"Stop bothering her with magic talk, Karp. Sage was an Alchemist, I'm sure it bugs her still just like it does Zoe." I told her, remembering how much the alchemist freaked out around us. Anything that seemed unnatural put her in a state of fear that none of us could pull her out of. While it was rare, considering magic didn't happen too often among the Palm Springs crew, she had freaked out when Jill tried to get revenge on some chick at school. I didn't know all of the details, only knowing what Jailbait had told me, but it was enough to understand that magic was not allowed around Alchemists.

Sydeny shrugged, actually looking indifferent to the matter. "I suppose it did bother me….before. Magic is actually not a big deal, not after what I've been through." Sydney commented, her voice strangely empty and devoid of emotion. Sonya glanced over at her in surprise, and I could sense her spirit use already. It was upsetting to see her treat Sage as nothing more than an experiment, though I knew her heart was in the right place. My gaze turned towards Sage as well, my newfound feelings still getting the best of me. I couldn't care for a human, it was even worse than a dhampir in the eyes of others of my race. It was best to just ignore the feelings, and pretend nothing had happened.

"Glad to know you've warmed up to us, Sage. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside." I told her, falling back on my usual snark to get out of the situation. She didn't seem amused, sighing and glancing at the screen in front of her again. Sonya was having her look at images, trying to gage her reaction. It was supposed to be compared to someone else's, just like we had done with Eddie and Dimitri before, but Zoe had left already, leaving Sydney alone in the room with us.

Sydney squirmed a bit in her seat, her gaze glancing back up at Sonya every now and then. She did not seem to like the scrutiny of the other woman, something that Adrian wanted to free her from. Still, she had volunteered for the experiment, so he couldn't be her knight in shining armor yet, not when it was taking her away from what she wanted to do.

I closed my eyes again, leaning back on the couch in silence. Sydney wasn't all that talkative yet, something that I was finding a bit disturbing. She was not recovering well, and with the focus on these experiments, she wasn't getting the help she needed. I thought that the two that had gone through this before would help her out, but it seems they were too focused on their little science project to focus on Sydney at the moment. Luckily, Sonya's wedding was coming up soon, so they would have to stop. I just hoped Sydney would manage to hang on until then, when she would get a break and begin to have a chance to heal from the guilt that was eating her alive.

 **So, this is the last chapter that I had planned out before my hiatus before. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this from here, each time I try to continue, it seems like nothing good is written down. Help would be greatly appreciated, any ideas are welcome!**

 **Thank you for the review, to answer your question, Zoe does not know about the bond. I thought I mentioned that before, but I may have forgotten to do so. With her attitude and strict adherence to the Alchemists' rules, I did not see her as willing to keep Jill's secret, so Zoe was never trusted enough to learn about it from them. If there are any other questions, feel free to ask.**

 **This story will be on hiatus again, sadly, until I find a way out of my writer's block for it. Ideas are welcome, or if anyone wants to try and continue it themselves, I don't mind! Just give me credit for the original idea, then feel free to take it in your own direction. Once again, I am so sorry for doing this to you, this story seems to be the only one I struggle with like this and it makes me feel terrible that I'm leaving it unfinished like this. I really hope I figure out a way to end it soon for you guys.**


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